Not About Angels
by blackbirdintegrity
Summary: A story of finding and losing. H/P.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! So since I only have one or two chapters left of Undertow, I thought I'd post this one early. This is another multi-chapter fic, though it will have less chapters than Undertow and probably a more fast-paced storyline. It is Emily-centered on the first parts but it is an H/P story. I hope you guys like it. You all have been amazing! xx**

"JJ, set up a press conference, release the cctv video. Even if the unsub is unrecognizable, this will rattle him." Hotch ordered.

"On it."

The team was working a local case. Two victims, a man and a woman, has been found dead in the span of two weeks. There are visible signs of torture, but the cause of death for both victims was a gunshot wound to the head, execution style.

The current victim, 20-year old Leonor Villa is still missing and currently presumed to be in the hands of their unsub. Leonor has no known family and living alone in an apartment that she shares with her friend Sarah who reported her missing two days ago. If the unsub stays with the MO, the team has less than 48 hours to find Leonor alive.

"Can you tell me about Leonor? How long have you known her?" Emily asked the distraught woman in front of her.

"Uhmm… almost two years. She came to the US for law school. She's from Italy, said her parents died due to illness. We work together at a coffee shop just a few minutes away from here, that's how I knew her. She's the kindest person you'll ever meet, and she's very smart too. She speaks like a million languages, and reads tons of books."

"Did she ever mention to you about anyone being weird or creepy towards her recently? Or maybe just feeling like someone was following her."

"No. No, she hasn't mentioned anything."

"Okay. What about on the day she went missing? Tell me about that day."

"Well, uhmm, she asked me to cover her shift for her that day, so I was working the entire day. She said something about going to New York to talk to someone, but she was very cryptic about it. She didn't tell me who, so I didn't push. Her last text to me came at around 4pm saying that the guy she talked to was a total douche and that it was a complete waste of time, and that she was already on board the train back to DC. When I woke up the next day and she still wasn't home, I just knew in my gut that something was wrong."

"Alright. Thank you, Sarah."

"You know, Leonor's 21st birthday is next weekend. She said she wanted to go to Mexico and she was really excited when she booked her ticket, been saving for it like for more than a year. Please, find her." Sarah pleaded before Emily left.

/

Emily sighed as she entered back to the conference room. Something in her gut tells her that she needed to save Leonor, to somehow find her alive.

"Sarah said Leonor went to New York to meet someone, but later that day, Leonor messaged her saying that the guy was a complete waste of time."

"But she made it back to Virginia. I doubt he's our guy."

"Ask Garcia to look into it anyway. We can't let it pass at this point." Hotch ordered Morgan.

In the next few seconds, an officer from the local PD came knocking in. "Agents, Leonor Villa was just found. She's alive. They're taking her to the hospital."

"Thank you, officer. Alright. Dave and Morgan go to the place where she was found. Emily and I will go to the hospital. Reid, cross-reference the new location and narrow down the geographical profile."

"What's on your mind?" Emily asked her boss, sensing that something was bothering him.

"It doesn't make any sense."

"What?"

"Why did he let Leonor live and let her go? What makes her different?"

Emily gave a hum of agreement. She shared the same thoughts. "Maybe she just didn't fit the type. Leonor is younger than the first two victims, and seems to be an all-around good kid, as compared to the others." She had a point. The first two had previous records, minor ones, but still.

"Yeah Garcia?" He said to the tech analyst on the other line. She was on a Bluetooth speaker in the car so Emily could hear her too.

"Alright, Superman and Wonder Woman, our beautiful victim met with a man named John Cooley in New York. I did the 411 plus more on him and he's clean. No hits, no records. Clean."

Emily tensed as she registered the name. _John Cooley._ Why was their victim meeting with John Cooley?

"Prentiss?" Hotch snapped her out of her thoughts. She didn't even notice the phone call ending.

"Yeah?"

"What's on your mind?"

"A lot." She said dismissively.

/

They made their way inside the hospital, flashing their badge at the reception desk. They were then led to a room where a doctor was waiting for them.

"I'm Agent Hotchner, this is Agent Prentiss."

"Dr. Wells."

"How is she?" Emily asked, pertaining to the sleeping girl in the room.

"There were obvious signs of starvation and dehydration. The patient also sustained numerous bruises, all consistent with beating. Her body has endured a lot of trauma, it's a miracle that she was still walking when she was found. She was very dazed and confused, but we're still waiting for tox-screen results to come back. She should wake up any moment now. I understand you'd want to talk to her, she should be able to do that, but go easy."

"Thank you, Dr. Wells."

With a short nod to Hotch, Emily went inside the room. She sat on the chair beside the bed, waiting for the woman to wake up. Her breath caught at the sight of the young woman before her. Something about her just tugs her heart.

Leonor opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. There was a throbbing pain in her head and her whole goddamn body hurt. She roamed her eyes around the well-lit place. Definitely different from the room she was in before. That room was dark and dirty, this one is nice and clean. _Hospital. I'm in the hospital._

Her beautiful dark eyes then landed to another dark pair, the same as hers. She gasped softly at the sight of an unfamiliar woman staring at her.

"Who are you?" She asked with a raspy voice.

The woman handed her a cup of water and she took several sips before lying back down again.

"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss from the FBI…"

Leonor gasped. _Emily Prentiss. Could it be her? Oh my god, I think it is. Emily Prentiss. Wow._ She did not hear what Emily has said after mentioning her name.

"Leonor?" Emily noticed that the younger woman was out of it. She was staring at her with awe and surprise in her eyes.

Leonor quickly apologized as she snapped out of it.

"Is it alright if I ask you some questions? It will really help us in finding the person who did this to you."

"Sure." She whispered, and Emily's face softened at her as she suddenly looked so fragile. _Get it together, Emily._ She willed herself.

"Can you tell us about the day you were abducted?"

"Uhmm. I was on my way home. I went to New York to meet someone."

"Who did you meet with in New York?"

"Just some guy that my mother told me to find before she passed. Anyway, I took a train back later that afternoon, and then I spent the night at this bar, Leandro's, about 20 minutes away from my apartment. I didn't get drunk, I swear. I was completely sober on my way home."

"Alright. When you were at the bar, did anyone stood out for you? Maybe some guy that was staring at you, someone who approached you?"

Leonor shook her head. "No. Nobody. The bartender, he's a good friend of mine and he looks after me every time I go there."

"Okay. How did you get home?"

"James, the bartender, called a cab for me. We waited for it outside the bar. He saw me get in. I made it outside my apartment. But I paused…" She stopped, as if trying to remember what made wait outside her place.

"Why?"

"My phone rang so I tried to fish it out of my bag, but before I could find it, something was already covering my nose, and then I blacked out."

"I woke up in a dark room, except for the light coming out of a tiny window. It was filthy and it smelled bad. My hands and ankles were tied."

"Was it a man or a woman?"

"A man. Caucasian, and maybe around 6 feet. I couldn't make any more features but I am sure that he has a scar on the right side of his face."

"A scar?"

"Yeah. Like from a burn."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"Every time he would enter the room, he will beat me and he would scream things like _You are filthy, a disgrace, you don't belong here._ Stuff like that. I don't- I don't know why he would do that. I don't even know him."

"But he let you go?"

"Yeah. He just came into the room and I knew he was gonna beat me again. He did, but after that, he covered my eyes and I knew he put me in a vehicle."

"Was the drive long or short?"

"Uhmm. Maybe around 20 minutes."

"Was it bumpy, smooth…?"

"The road was bumpy at first, like driving on a dirt road. Then it was smooth and I could hear other cars driving past. The next thing I knew, we stopped. He took my blindfold off and the ropes around my ankles and told me to get out of the car or he'll shoot me. So I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was going. I was so scared. I had no family. I thought no one was looking for me." She cried.

She didn't know what it was, but somehow, something just made Emily reach forward and hug the woman in front of her. This made Leonor sob even harder.

"It's alright. You're safe now." She whispered to her.

/

Emily met back with Hotch at the hallway.

"Lab results came back. She's clean, he didn't drug her or anything. What did you get from her?"

"She was abducted outside her apartment, just like the cctv showed. She said the man was caucasian, about 6 feet tall and has a burn scar on the right side of his face. He said something about Leonor being filthy, a disgrace, or not belonging here."

"So, hero complex?"

"Possibly. Like he's cleaning out the streets or something."

"That's where he made the mistake. The first two victims were homeless at some point in their lives, had records, traces of drugs in their system. But Leonor is the complete opposite."

"But still there should be something about her that drew the unsub in."

"We need to go back and regroup. Let's go."

/

Once back in the conference room, the team was eventually able to narrow down their initial profile, and with the help of the description given by Leonor, they were able to identify their unsub.

"Mark Frazier, 36. He used to be a bank manager, until a fire engulfed his home 8 years ago, killing his wife and 8-month old daughter. Investigation concluded that the fire was intentionally started by a group of homeless guys who were originally intending to rob the house. The 3 men were arrested and eventually convicted. Three weeks ago, one of them, Matteo Gudicci, was paroled for good behavior."

Without a word to each to other, the team already knew this was their guy.

"Garcia-" Hotch said but was immediately interrupted.

"Home address sent to your phones. Yup. That's how I work. You're welcome. Now, go the save the day, my heroes!"

"Thanks, Garcia."

/

The takedown was anything but easy. No one answered the door, so they spread out to cover the perimeter. However, when Aaron and Emily were on their way to cover the back door, something suddenly crash against the garage door from the inside. Before Emily could process what was happening, she felt herself being pushed away from the raging SUV.

Emily grunted the force of her body hitting the concrete. She was sure her shoulder had endured some damage. But that was a worry for another day.

"Hotch!" Emily screamed as she saw her friend lying on the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Hotch stand up and aim fire at the unsub.

Shots were heard everywhere, until it all stopped and Derek screamed, "we got him!"

Both gave a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" Hotch asked as they stood up. He groaned inwardly, he's sure that he's bruised all over his left side, maybe a few fractured ribs too.

"I should be one the asking you." Emily said, worry evident in her voice.

"I'm fine." He lied, but seeing that she didn't buy it, he offered a consolation. "I'll get checked if you get checked."

Emily just nodded. There was no point in arguing. They both got hurt and none of them was going pretend that they're not in pain.

/

They were brought to the same hospital that Leonor was in. Surprisingly, Emily did not suffer any breaks or fractures, but she was advised that her shoulder would be bruised and sore for a while and she needed to take it easy. She accepted that, thinking that it was better than having it broken.

Hotch, however, was not so fortunate. It was confirmed that he has two fractured ribs. He definitely could feel it, as it was already painful to even breathe.

They were both sitting in the ER when Emily's phone rang. She smirked as she saw Garcia's name. _News travel fast._

"Hey, Garcia."

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're both okay." She pleaded.

"We're both okay. Just in pain, but we're okay."

She heard her friend sigh. "Good. Good. You know, this is what I hate about my job. I just sit here and wait for news. But I can't help but worry. I worry about my family. That's a general rule-"

"Garcia. I love you, and I appreciate that you worry about us. I can't help that. But we're okay, really. And we'll see you soon."

"Alright. I'm sorry. Anyway, remember that personal favor you asked me about?"

Emily tensed and Hotch immediately noticed the change in her body language.

"Uhm, maybe when I get back?"

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I shall visit you in your lair."

"Alright then, my princess. Take care of bossman." Garcia said playfully. This has been a never-ending subject of teasing between the three women of the BAU.

"Garcia-"

"Love you. Bye!"

/

Leonor was just finishing to pack the last of her things when a knock was heard on her hospital door.

"Agent Prentiss." She politely greeted.

"Hey. Shouldn't you be here for at least two more nights?" Emily asked as she saw the duffel bag on the bed.

Leonor shrugged her shoulders as she sat down on the edge of the bed, to which Emily followed and sat down beside her.

"There's really no point. I can take the bed rest at my apartment. I need to get back to work anyway if I want to have books and study materials by the next semester. I already spent almost half of the money I saved for my birthday trip. Too bad the airline wouldn't give me a refund. Staying here will just put me in more debt."

Emily sighed. She was aware that the young woman was struggling financially. Despite being on a scholarship, her source of income is quite inadequate, so a hospital stay was a privilege she could not afford.

"Can I ask you a question?" Leonor said with uncertainty.

"Sure."

"Did he ever say why? I mean, when you caught him?" She asked quietly.

"No." Emily shook her head. "He didn't. He hasn't said a thing, not even for a statement. But 8 years ago, his house was set on fire. His wife and 8-month old daughter died. The culprits were 3 men who originally wanted to rob the house. Three weeks ago, one of them was released on parole."

"Oh. So he was not naturally bad. I mean, a disastrous event just like that could change people."

Emily couldn't help but smile at the understanding and resilience this young woman was showing.

"Can _I_ ask you a question?" It was Emily's turn to ask.

"Sure."

"How do you know John Cooley?"


	2. Chapter 2

It's been 2 weeks but the conversation in the hospital still bothered Leonor. Not because it was something meaningful or anything, but because she simply thought she was rude. Agent Prentiss was nice to her but she shut her off when she asked her about New York.

 _What the hell were you thinking, Leonor? Obviously you weren't thinking at all! That was your chance, and you slipped up._ She mentally scolded herself. Leonor looked back at the last conversation she had with Emily.

*FLASHBACK*

 _"How do you know John Cooley?"_

 _Emily noticed that the question made Leonor uncomfortable, but she needed to know why this young woman went to visit her friend._

 _"I told you. He was just someone my mother told me to find."_

 _"And why would she want you to look for him?"_

 _"Doesn't matter now. He's not the nicest person, so, who cares?"_

 _"Leonor-"_

 _"I have to go. Sarah's waiting for me downstairs by the cashier. The bill's not going to pay itself."_

 _Emily watched as Leonor stood up and grab her duffel bag. Before she could walk out the door, Emily called her again._

 _"Here." Handing Leonor her business card. "If you need anything else, or if when you're ready to talk."_

 _She was glad when the younger woman accepted it. "Thank you, Agent Prentiss – for everything."_

 _Leonor grumpily made it to Sarah who was waiting for her by the cashier. While the international foundation who granted her the scholarship gave her a decent medical insurance, still part of what she has incurred during her stay was not covered. Hence, she needed to pay in cash._

 _Her goal before leaving the hospital was to pay what she can and take the rest on credit, but the look on her friend's face tells a different story._

 _"What's up?" She asked._

 _"Someone paid your bill."_

 _"What? Who?"_

 _"The cashier said the person didn't leave a name."_

 _"Let me see that." She grabbed the paper from Sarah's hand. "I think I know who did this." She sighed._

 _"Come on. Let's go home."_

"Hey." Leonor jumped at the sound of her friend's voice. She didn't even hear her come in. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. I just didn't hear you come in."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just a lot in my mind, and honestly, I'm ready to go back to work. Being cooped up here doesn't do me any good."

"You'll be back on Monday – two more days. Just take it easy for now. Anyway, I just came back to get these." Sarah said, holding the books that she had borrowed from the library. "See you later!"

"Bye, Sar."

Emily was in the middle of watching a movie when her phone buzzed. She winced a little as she used her bad shoulder to reach it.

 _I'm ready to talk. – Leonor_

" _Where?"_ She texted back.

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed again. " _My apartment at 3?"_

 _"I'll be there."_

Suddenly, she felt something in the mix of excitement and nervousness. After what she learned about her from Garcia, she knew there was still so much she needed to find out about this young woman.

*FLASHBACK*

" _Alright. What have you got for me?" Emily asked as she took a chair beside Garcia in her lair._

 _"Okay. If you will look on the screen in front of you, you will see a photo of Leonor Villa. She's 20 years old, born on June 8, 1986, to Matteo Ferlito and Amalia Villa. They're not married but they lived together since Leonor was a toddler. They lived as a family in Florence, Italy. And oh the life this child had lived. During the lifetime of her father, there were multiple reports of domestic abuse. As a child, she had a long list of medical records. The silver lining though in all of this is that Leonor is a gifted, truly an angel, child. She has been a scholar since she started schooling. Graduated high school at age 14, and earned her degree in international relations at age 17. Truly magnificent._

 _"Wow."_

 _"Yeah. Wow. Anyway, there's actually a part where it gets sketchy. I've discovered in one of the hospital records that she does not share a blood type with any of her parents. So I did some more digging and found a DNA test result initiated by the State when Leonor was 7."_

 _"What does it say?"_

 _"No match. None. Nada."_

 _"So she's not their kid. Found adoption papers?"_

 _"Ah. Now that is where it gets sketchier. There are no adoption papers, no records of adoptions in their names whatsoever. There is, however, a birth certificate that contains Amalia's name as her mother, and it's a legitimate one."_

 _"So it is possible that she was handed off as a new born and it was Amalia who registered her. How did she die?"_

 _"Oh, that. Lung cancer three years ago. After that, according to the records, Leonor sold their house in Italy, including the shop, liquidated all her money and took a scholarship for law school that GWU offered her, partially sponsored by an Italian-based international foundation. Apparently, they've been sponsoring her education since she was 4._

/

Leonor was pacing back and forth in her living room. It was a little over 3pm, but her heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest.

She jumped when she heard the doorbell ring. _God, Leonor, stop being jumpy already!_ She took a deep breath and walked to the door.

"Agent Prentiss." She courteously greeted. "Come in."

"Thank you." Emily looked around the apartment and couldn't help but profile her.

"Please, sit." Leonor offered. They both took a seat side by side on the couch. "So, this is my place. It's not much of a home, but it does its job, I guess."

"It looks great."

"Oh, do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

"Water would be great, thanks."

Leonor got back with two glasses of water in hand. She placed them on the coffee table as sat.

"Uhm. Thank you." She started. "For paying my hospital bill."

Emily was dumbfounded. She had no idea that Leonor would figure it out quickly. She was trying to find words, not sure if she offended her or anything. But her intentions were good. "It's fine, really. You have no idea how big of a help it was. I promise to pay you back. I'm starting to save for it."

"No. No. You don't have to. I offered, and I do not expect anything in return."

There was awkward silence again until Leonor just decided to take the plunge.

"So, I figured that you already have background information on me. What else would you like to know?"

"How about we start with John Cooley?"

"Right." She sighed. "Before my mother died, she gave me information on how to find my biological mother. It wasn't much – basically breadcrumbs. Ever since I found out that I was adopted, I always made sure she knew how much I wanted to meet my biological mother. Anyway, she said that about the time that I was born, she worked for the US Diplomatic Residence in Italy as a cook. The ambassador had a teenage daughter then, who was rather rebellious. She said she would often hear the ambassador scold her daughter for not behaving well or sneaking out – you know, typical teenage stuff. Anyway, there came a point when the ambassador basically locked her daughter away for so long. Until one night, midwives were called and chaos seemed to disrupt the peaceful residence. The ambassador's daughter gave birth. Everyone in the household were sworn to secrecy – tell a soul and their lives would be over."

Tears started to fall from Emily's eyes. This couldn't be possible. "I remember her now – Amalia. She was the one who knew about me sneaking out. I would always use the kitchen door. But we were friends, and she was nice enough not to tell." Emily remembered with a sad smile.

She looked up to Leonor, expecting confusion in the young's woman eyes. But she failed. It seemed like Leonor knew all this time. She nodded to her, prompting her to continue with the story.

"My mother was in the room when you were giving birth. She said you passed out after I came out. The ambassador instructed one of the midwives to bring the baby to an orphanage, but before she could, my mother offered to take the baby in. She said that the ambassador was reluctant at first, but after my mother promised that she and I would be gone by morning and never to be heard from ever again, the ambassador agreed. So… here I am."

"Anyway, before she died, she told me the ambassador's name. Elizabeth Prentiss. She's famous enough to google, so I did. You're her daughter, Emily Prentiss. But you were somehow impossible to find, legally at least. I also have another name, Matthew Benton. She said he was easier to find and was probably my biological father because you two were best friends. I met him in Alexandria a few months back. He told me that he is definitely not my father, but he told me it was John Cooley. So that's why I met with him in New York."

Emily remained quiet for a while, trying to take in all of these information, trying to swallow the fact that there's been a huge lie in her life and not once did her mother had the decency to tell her the truth. But most importantly, she's trying to decipher what she's feeling. However, Leonor took this in the negative and started to become defensive.

She wiped the tears from her eyes quickly. She knew this would happen, she expected it. But she didn't expect how it would feel. Her only intention was to just actually meet her biological mother. _One meeting is enough,_ she used to tell herself. But now that Emily Prentiss is here, now that she's seen how incredibly amazing this woman is just by knowing what she does for a living, she longed for more.

But growing up, she's learned that wanting more and asking for more was selfish. _You should be content with what you're given!_ She remembered her father screaming at her when she asked for another piece of bread. Her mother was away that time for a few days to tend to her ailing grandmother two towns over. Amalia was reluctant to leave little Leonor to her father, but Leonor, then only six, assured her that she'd be fine. During the time that her mother was away, Leonor suffered one of worst beatings of her life.

"Look," she started, "I don't- I'm not expecting anything here. I just really wanted to meet you. So if you want to leave, I won't take it against you."

"Leonor," Emily reached for her hand, "will you at least let me give you my side of the story?" Leonor could see the tears in her eyes and she knew she was sincere. She nodded.

"We traveled a lot when I was younger. Most people would think of it as the dream life, but it was nothing but a nightmare for me. My parents were more committed to the job than they were to me. I was merely a trophy child who was expected to excel and behave like them. I was 15 when we came to Italy for my mother's posting. I was a rebellious teen, but no one understood why. I wanted to get away, to stay in one place and establish roots. Then I met Matthew and John, we became the best of friends. We were inseparable."

"As a teen, all I wanted was to fit in, and I tried so hard to fit in. I did things I wasn't supposed to. Matthew tried to warn me, but I didn't listen."

Sensing that Emily was starting to become uncomfortable with this part of the story, Leonor nodded in understanding. "You got pregnant." She said for her.

"Yeah." She sighed. "When I told John, he said he wanted no part of it and started to treat me like we didn't know each other. I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. But Matthew – he was there all throughout. He was the one who convinced me to finally tell my parents."

"So you told them."

"So I told them. My father had said nothing. Nothing at all. He continued to bury himself with work. Until one day, about a week after that, he just… didn't come home. But my mother – I knew she wanted to throw me into the deepest part of hell. I saw nothing but fury in her eyes. She said I needed to have it aborted."

Emily heard Leonor gasped. "But of course, I didn't. I was already 5 months pregnant then. It was already a fully-formed fetus at the time so I begged her to let me keep it. I begged her to send me into the farthest place possible, maybe the French Alps – my grandpa has a cabin there. In the end, she locked me in the attic until I gave birth. It was the most painful thing I've experienced, but all of that vanished when I heard the baby cry. It was the most beautiful, soothing sound I've ever heard. That was the last thing I heard before I passed out. When I woke up next morning, I was all alone. I wanted to find my baby but I couldn't stand up. My mother came in handing me a document. It was a death certificate. She told me the baby died a few hours after due to an infection."

"Did you believe her then?"

Emily shook her head. "No. Of course not. I mean not at first."

"But?"

"But two days after, she told me to get dressed for a funeral. And then I knew. We went to a small chapel by the cemetery. It was just the two of us and the priest. The tiny coffin was closed. Then we buried it. They didn't even let me have the chance to speak. But my mother said _how could you expect to form a decent eulogy for someone you haven't even met?_ "

"Wow." Leonor whispered, taking everything in shock.

"Look. Uhm.. I think – I think we both need time to process all of this."

Leonor nodded, preparing herself to hear the worse.

"But please, let's not be strangers to each other again."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?" She said tearfully.

Emily nodded. _What? Was she expecting a different outcome?_ "Really. Let's take some time to process all of this. And frankly, I'd need time to do that and more. You know, sort things out. But, reach out, okay?" Leonor nodded.

"And if you need anything, anything at all, you know where to find me."

"Same goes for you."

Emily pulled Leonor in for a hug. Now she knew why it felt different when she hugged Leonor back at the hospital. This time, it felt even greater.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: To ILR: You know, I'm very tempted to post the entire thing all at once because I LOVE proving wrong, but nah.. not worth it.**

Hotch sighed as he heard the urgent knocks on the door. Jack was at a sleepover with his cousins who were visiting and staying at Jessica's house. This gave him more time to work on the files he'd brought home.

He glanced at the clock as he made his to the door, just past 11pm. He knew exactly who'd have the only courage to knock at his door this late.

Emily stood on the other side holding a newly purchased bottle of her favorite red wine. She gave a neutral expression and held the bottle up as a greeting.

He smirked. "That bad?" He asked, letting her in and taking the bottle from her hands. He proceeded to the kitchen to prepare drinks for them. He glanced back and saw her pacing back and forth in the living room. This should be interesting.

He walked back to the living room with two steaming cups in hand – one coffee, one tea – that he placed on the coffee table.

"Sit." He held her shoulders and guided her to the couch.

"Where's my wine?!"

"Not tonight."

"But-"

"Drink your tea." He said sternly, though they both knew it was just a playful gesture.

She sighed. There was no point in arguing, and frankly, she didn't have the energy to argue any more anyway. So she took the cup of tea and drank quietly.

Hotch broke the comfortable silence after a while. "What is it?" He asked quietly.

"I have a kid."

"What?!"

She shook her head, "No. Not a kid. I mean, I have a daughter."

Hotch studied her features. She avoided his gaze but he could see the pack of emotions on her face. Worry, fear, panic, confusion, anger, sadness. He knew Emily too well not to notice these.

He didn't know what to say. He himself was confused. So he stayed quiet and waited for her to talk. He knew she will.

And of course, he was right. It took some time though. They sat there in silence for almost an hour before Emily finally opened up.

"When I was 15, my mother was posted in Italy. That's where I met Matthew and John, American teenagers who also hated moving around. We were inseparable. But as a 15-year old, I was rebellious. I did things I wasn't supposed to. Then… I got pregnant."

Hotch reached for her hand then, to convey some kind of support – that he was not judging her. "Did you tell the father?"

"Yeah, but he told me it wasn't his problem. I was so scared then, I knew I messed up badly and it was costly. I was already showing, maybe around 5 months, when Matthew finally convinced me to tell my parents

"Did you?" He continued rubbing his thumb on her palm. He knew how hard it is for her to open, especially about things like this, so he was trying to soothe her.

"Yes." She whispered. And Hotch knew it was hell from there. "My mother practically told me to abort it. But it was already fully-developed, Hotch! A baby! My baby!" She cried, angrily wiping her tears. "Then there's my father. Oh what a great father he was. He had no reaction whatsoever and buried himself further into his work. As if I didn't exist."

"So you didn't."

"I didn't. I begged my mother to let me keep it. To just send me somewhere far, where no one would know who I was. But all she did was lock me in the attic until I gave birth."

Hotch's eyes widened when he heard. He shuddered at the image of little Emily scared and alone in an attic. He'd never expected her mother to be that harsh. Yes, she was controlling, but he didn't know it got that far. "I'm sorry." He whispered. What else is there to say?

Emily just shook her head, not really sure what he was apologizing for. "Giving birth was the most painful thing I've ever experienced, but also the most fulfilling thing ever. When I heard the baby cry, I was so relieved and happy, and I already felt so much love for it. But I passed out shortly thereafter."

She paused then. This was already too much for her. Maybe they need to stop, call it a night. It was obviously taking out too much of her. But he also knew that it was now or never. If he stop her, she'd only closed off again, and it's going to eat her up. So he just waited, rubbing soothing patterns on her palm.

"I didn't know how long I was out. When I woke up, I tried to find my baby but I couldn't move. I felt so weak. Then my mother came in and gave me a document. It was a death certificate, a proof that my baby died. She said it had an infection. I didn't… it didn't even say whether it was boy or a girl." She cried.

"I didn't believe her then. It could've been fake. My mother could anything she wants when she wants to. But 2 days later, she told me to get dressed for a funeral… for my baby. It was in the small chapel by the cemetery. Just my mother and I, and the priest. No one else. That moment I just felt like it was… real. My baby was really dead."

He hugged her tightly against him. "Oh Em." He kissed the top of her head. She cried for a while, and he just let her. He knew she needed to get it out of her system.

When she somehow stopped crying, she pulled away and looked at him. He had to admit that the look on her face was something else. It was a combination of anger and determination and anger.

"My baby was not dead." She said, her voice hauntingly emotionless, which contradicts the emotions in her eyes.

"What?"

She stood up and started pacing again. "She wasn't dead! All this time, she's alive! And my mother did not have the decency to tell me! Not even 21 years later. Unfuckingbelievable, right?"

"Em-"

"All this time, my daughter was out there, living a hellish childhood. All this time she's been trying to find me! And I didn't even know!" She almost shouted. "I didn't even know." She whispered.

"Come here." Hotch pulled her back into the couch and in his arms. "You found her?"

She nodded. "We found her." She told him, and she smiled as Hotch's brow knotted in confusion. "Leonor Villa."

"From that case two weeks ago." He confirmed. _Huh._ The girl did have similar features with Emily and they could be mistaken as sisters.

"Yeah. Remember she was meeting with someone in New York? And Garcia told us it was John Cooley."

"He's the father." He deduced.

"He's the father." She confirmed.

Then there was silence. Both of them just sat on the couch, side by side, heads resting back. At some point, Hotch thought Emily had already fallen asleep. But then he heard a sniffle, and then a whimper. He looked beside him only to see Emily crying. Now, the thing is, Aaron Hotchner is a very stoic man, nothing affects him. Except when he sees Emily cry. He doesn't know why but it is heartbreaking to see her cry, or even sad, and all he wants to do is hold on to her and never let go.

"Emily…"

"I'm so confused." She said, not even bothering to wipe her tears. She probably sounded so pathetic too. But she didn't care. This is Hotch, and Hotch does not judge her. "I'm so mad at everyone involved in keeping this secret. I'm so mad at myself for not trying harder. But I'm so happy that's she's alive and she's here. But I'm also so sad that I don't even know anything about her. It's too late. I'm too late." She sobbed harder.

"Come here." He pulled Emily against him. Her legs were across his lap and her head laid on his shoulder as she continue to sob. For once, he had no words. If you ask him, he'd say this situation is a complete mess and he would like to give every person who wronged her a slow painful death.

Emily eventually cried herself to sleep. It was then that Hotch decided to carry her to bed. He laid her down and tucked her in before getting changed and lying down beside her. He kissed her temple and wished her good night, though he's sure she's not going to hear it anyway.

/

Hotch groaned at the offending sound that woke him up from his deep slumber. He flapped his hand and tried to fish the wailing object on his nightstand.

"Hotchner." He tried to sound as awake as possible.

"Hey, Hotch. I'm so sorry but we have an urgent case."

"Right. Round table in an hour."

"Oh, and have you talked to Emily? She's not answering her cell."

That somehow snapped him out of his hazy thoughts. Emily must have left her phone downstairs. "I'll call her, and if she doesn't answer, I'll drop by her place."

"Uhm… Okay. Sure. See you."

He sighed as the call ended. 5 freaking 15, the clock blared. He hated to wake up his guest, and he's sure as hell she's not going to appreciate it, but they had a job to do. It is what it is. But then again, there was no reason for her to wake up if he was going to shower first. So, deciding to give her a little more time, he went into the shower.

After showering and dressing up except for his dress shirt, coat and tie, he finally decided to wake up Emily. It was almost 6 so they really need to get going. He took the liberty of getting her go bag from her car. Though she had work clothes in his, he thought she might anything from the bag.

"Emily." He shook her shoulder, but to no avail.

"Em, wake up." But all he got was an annoyed groan and Emily covering her face with the duvet. "C'mon, Em! We got a case." He said, taking the duvet off of her.

"It's early! And it's Sunday!" She said in an annoyed and still sleepy voice.

"I know, but we have to go. C'mon!"

Emily faced the other way and the covered herself again. Hotch sighed, she's normally not this hard to wake up in the morning when they're together but given the emotionally exhausting day she had yesterday, he figured she was still too tired. But he also knew just the right tactic to get her up.

He faked a dejected sigh. "Alright! You can sit this one out." He said, standing up from the bed.

"Nooo." Emily whined, uncovering herself.

"You're tired. You need to take a break."

"No."

"Well then get up." He said in a stern voice, inwardly smirking. Without a word, Emily Prentiss was up and headed to the shower.

They managed to get out and going by 6:15. They took Hotch's car and left Emily's at his condo's carpark. Hotch is not stupid, he knows the law, that is – no talking to Emily Prentiss until she's had at least one cup of coffee. And given that he'd started her morning on a bad note and having no time to make coffee at home, the least he could do was buy her one before heading to work.

Emily wasn't really paying attention to where he was driving. Of course, he was driving to work. That was the point of him waking her up so early on a Sunday. But when she noticed that they were entering the Starbucks drive-thru, her mood lightened up a little.

She didn't even need to speak as Hotch already knew what kind of coffee and breakfast sandwich she liked. Hotch knew a lot about her, as she does about him. But that's what friends are for, right? Especially when you spend most of your waking hours with each other. It's just bound to happen. You pick on habits, likes, dislikes, and eventually you find yourselves hanging out together, sharing stories and secrets. Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I mean, it's not like she likes him in a romantic way. _Okay, maybe a little. Or a lot_. But he didn't need to know that. What he needs to know is that she'll always be there for him, like he's there for her. That's just it. Anything else beyond that is far beyond her imagination.

Hotch let her eat her sandwich and drink her coffee in peace as they drive to Quantico. Once he parked the car in its usual slot, Emily had already finished her sandwich and still devouring her venti-sized coffee. They walked in silence, and Emily actually thought Hotch was pissed at her for being so difficult this morning.

"Thank you." She said quietly as they ride the elevator alone.

"You're welcome." He answered without looking at her, as he was checking his email on his phone.

"I'm sorry."

He looked up at her, confused. "For what?"

He could definitely see that little pout as she looked down and whispered, "For being difficult this morning."

He sighed and shook her head. "Don't ever apologize for being you, Em." He smiled at her.

"I swear that's not really- I'm not really like that. It's just that I was very tired…" _and for some reason I just feel really comfortable with you._

"It's fine. Em." He pulled her against him for a quick hug.

"Call her." Hotch said before they reach their floor.

"What?"

"It's not too late. Call her. Go out, get to know your daughter." The elevator doors opened, and as they rushed to the conference room, Emily was thinking about that suggestion.

/

Four days later, they were making their way back to Quantico. After a little more peptalk to herself, Emily finally mustered up the courage to call Leonor. Hotch, who was sitting across her gave her an encouraging look.

She sighed as she waited for the call to be answered. "Hi, Leonor. It's Emily."

"Hi, Emily." Leonor said shyly.

"So, uhm. We're actually on our way back to Quantico right now, and I was hoping maybe we could spend a day together? Saturday, perhaps?"

"Uh re-really?" Leonor smiled so widely.

"Yeah. Only if you want to, of course."

"Absolutely. So, I'll see you Saturday?"

"Yup. I'll be there. Bye."

Emily was just staring at her phone, trying to decipher if that conversation really just happened, until she felt someone staring at her.

She snapped her head up to see Hotch looking at her, smiling. "What?"

He looked down, a little embarrassed that he was just caught staring at her. "Nothing. It's just that… you looked so happy while talking to her." _And it was one of the most beautiful thing I've ever seen._

Now it was Emily's turn to look down, suddenly shy and blushing at his words.

 _Maybe he was right. Maybe it's not too late._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Right. That's it. I don't want to spoil the entire story for those who actually take time to read and appreciate it. You can speculate all you want, assume all you want, but I'm not saying any more. If you don't like it, don't read it. No one's pointing a gun to your head and forcing you to read this.**

 **And to everyone who actually reads and appreciates this, thank you! The updates are much slower now because I've started school three week ago. I only had less than a week of summer break (we usually have an entire month) because I took summer classes so I could get them out of the way and not take them on a regular semester. Anyway, three weeks in and it's already taking a toll on me, physically and emotionally. Yes, the story is ALMOST finished and saved on my computer, most chapters are done, but I barely have time to eat or sleep, more so being on the internet. I barely use my laptop unless it's school related. Besides, if I post everything all at once, where's the fun in that? Lol. Anyway, thanks again for being so patient, and for reading. xx**

Leonor laughed probably louder than she's ever had in her life. She and Emily went to dinner and now they're back at Emily's apartment for wine and some crappy reality TV. But really, they only liked watching it because they could roast the people on it.

Ever since they've spend time together the first time 3 weeks ago, it has been followed by two more Saturday outings. It just became an unspoken rule that if Emily was in town, they'd spend Saturdays together.

"Hey, this wine is amazing, by the way." Leonor said, praising Emily's knowledge for wine. She actually envied her in that sense.

"Why, thank you. It takes years of practice. And by that I meant I actually started drinking at the age of 16, secretly of course." She said smugly.

"You know, your life could actually turn into a great book. _The Misadventures of Emily Prentiss."_ Leonor teased.

"I will seriously consider that when I get sick of the FBI." Emily laughed.

"Which is never." Leonor said plainly, to which Emily agreed.

They sat in comfortable silence as they drink their wine and watch TV. Once the show was done, Leonor got up and took something from her bag.

"I brought something." She said, walking back to couch and sitting beside Emily. "This is umm… a collection of photos from my childhood. I've put it in here because I was really hoping I could someday show it to my real mother." She explained quietly.

"Oh." Emily whispered. "I would love to see it." She smiled at the younger woman.

Leonor moved closer to Emily. She opened the album with one half sitting on her lap, while the other part of it was on top of Emily's. "There's not much in it because films were too expensive for us – the old camera was a hand-me-down from a neighbor, but my mom made sure she had the camera for special occasions and milestones."

She pointed to a baby photo of her sitting on the bed with a little book in her hand. The handwriting on the bottom of the photo says "Leonor, 10 months."

"Oh, you're so cute." Emily cooed.

"My mom said I started talking and walking at 10 months. I barely even crawled, said I just got straight to walking. She said that's when she knew that I would be special. So she continued to read books to me that she got from the library."

Emily pointed to a photo of a tiny little girl – maybe around 2 years old - sitting on the floor with a pile of books. "I'm guessing that's you in a library." She said.

"Yup. That was the day she brought me to the library for the first time. I was reading by that age, and the librarian actually gave my mom a weird look because she took me to the world history section and gave me history books to read. I guess that librarian was expecting me to bore myself out in the kids section."

"You like History?" Emily asked.

"I love it. I love reading and learning all about it. It's like there's a movie playing inside my head when I read about History. I also like stories which has historical setting, especially the war era. "

Emily smiled in awe. She loved History and maybe… just maybe Leonor got that from her.

"Look at this." Leonor pointed on a photo of a little sitting on a huge couch reading a book. "Can you tell which book I was reading?"

Emily took a closer look at the photo and chuckled. "The Little Prince… In French?" She gave Leonor a surprised look.

"Mhmm. I was 4 at that time and that was the foreign novel I read."

"Wait, how did you learn to speak French?" Emily wondered.

"Our old neighbor, Mrs. Maggio, she lived alone. So, from the time I was two, I would come by her house in the morning and then again in the afternoon, and she would just teach me a lot of things. Math, Science, Politics, Geography, _everything._ She was fluent in French, so that became a constant lesson for me. She said I picked up the language very quickly. So by the time I was 4, I was speaking French fluently. I learned the English language from reading at the library. Mother and father only knew Italian."

To say that she was surprised was an understatement. Leonor was a gifted child, and god only knows what opportunities she would've had, had she stayed with her. Maybe Elizabeth would like her better than Emily.

"I remember that day very well. It was a day that opened a lot of doors for me. You see, as I was reading there, this old man came and sat beside. He watched me, probably wondering if a little girl could even understand the words on that book. So he asked in French, _do you even know what you're reading?_ And he laughed. I turned to face him. I was so annoyed, not only because he was mocking me, but also because he interrupted my reading. So I replied in French, _of course, I do. There's a lot of things I know that a normal foolish old man like you do not know._ And that's how I got a scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in Italy."

"What?" Emily chuckled.

"Turns out that old man was the headmaster of the school. He talked to the librarian, who told him all about me. Then, one day he talked to my mother at the library and said that there is a full scholarship for me. His wife has this Foundation which helps poor kids get to school. Each scholar has a sponsor, and mine was the first lady of Italy at the time. The wife actually lobbied for me to get a good sponsor. In turn, I would win academic competitions for them." She explained.

She then turned the page which had a lot photos of her from grades 1 through 12. In every photo, Leonor was holding a trophy (or trophies) and medals were hanging from her neck. "I enjoyed those competitions. It was a like a fire was building inside of me just waiting to explode. The adrenaline it gave was insane."

 _God, she really is my daughter._ "You amaze me, you know?" Emily said to her.

"I do?"

"Of course. I bet every person you've met was impressed by you."

Leonor smiled, but it also faltered. "Every person but my father." She whispered.

"Oh Lee, you don't have to." She said, reaching for the younger woman's hand.

 _Lee._ Emily started calling her that upon their second Saturday outing. Emily has this habit of shortening people's names if it's two syllables or more. Leonor was not an exception. She didn't mind though. She even silently decided that only Emily can call her that.

Leonor just nodded, knowing that Emily would not push her to talk about her father if she's not ready yet. So, the night went on with them taking a look at pictures Leonor brought.

"I'm sorry I don't have a lot of pictures to show you." Emily said. Leonor put in a lot of effort to save the pictures and put it together in that album She could feel how happy Leonor was while telling stories about each of them. She was slightly embarrassed that she didn't have anything to show her.

But – _wait._ She does have one photo. One that she's been saving all her life. One of her treasures. The only memory she had then of her baby.

"Stay here. I have something to show you." Emily said before getting up from the couch and heading straight to her room. Once there, she pulled out a box from her closet, a box where she kept things which have a sentimental value to her. She pulled out one photo that she was suddenly excited to show Leonor. But before she could close the box, another thing caught her attention. And finally she remembered. She also pulled it out of the box and held it close to her.

She's never felt so connected to her daughter up until now, so she decided it was time. She came back downstairs and sat beside Leonor again.

"Here." She handed Leonor an ultrasound photo.

"Oh." Leonor whispered, and suddenly, she couldn't help the tears starting to pool on her eyes.

"That's basically the only picture I have of you. The day I told Matthew that I was pregnant, he brought me to a doctor because he wanted to make sure that everything was alright. He even paid for it from his allowance. That was the only doctor visit I had during that pregnancy, and part of the reason why that, years later, I truly believed that my child was dead – because I wasn't careful. I didn't take care of myself, and I didn't take care of you.

 _For years, she thought I was dead and blamed herself?_ Leonor thought. "But you didn't have a choice. They locked you in. The least that they could was have some doctor visit you in that place!" Leonor said, slightly agitated. This woman beside basically went through torture just so she could live and she's blaming herself? _If there's anyone to blame here, it's her mother._

Leonor was crying now as she faced her real mother. "It's not your fault." She said, taking Emily's hand in hers. "I'm sorry that you went through all of that. You have no idea how thankful I am that you fought for me to live, because what you've done is the greatest act of love anyone could ever imagine. And I can only wish that I could be half as brave and half as strong as you."

Emily was speechless. What else was she supposed to say? At a loss for words, she pulled Leonor in for a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Oh, I have one more thing!" Emily exclaimed when they pulled away, wiping the tears from their eyes and smiling at each other.

"This." She showed Leonor the gray and white knitted baby blanket.

"You made this?" Leonor asked, feeling the soft material.

Emily nodded. "Summers in Spain can be boring for a kid. So my nanny, who was desperate to keep me in one place and not running off somewhere else, taught me how to knit. It took a lot of tears and frustrations, but eventually I got good at it. I've always had a knitting kit since then."

"When I was locked in that room, I begged Amalia to bring me my knitting kit which was in my original room. Even though she knew she'd get in trouble, she still did, under the pretense of bringing me dinner. She's a very clever woman, by the way. When I was not crying or sulking in that room, I would knit – trying to make something special for my child. And this was the outcome. I'm pretty sure I also made a hat and a pair of boots but I never found them."

"That's okay. This is amazing." Leonor chuckled. "Is there anything you can't do?" She teased.

"Well, I can't do sports." Emily said plainly.

Leonor laughed. "That's okay. Me too."

They got lost in deep conversation and before they knew it, it was past midnight.

"I should go. It's late." Leonor said, standing from the couch.

"You can stay here, you know." Emily offered nervously. "I have a guest room. You can borrow some clothes."

"Oh no, it's okay. I don't want to bother you." Leonor said.

"Please." Emily reached out for her hand. "After what happened, I'm really not comfortable sending you out alone at this hour."

To be honest, Leonor was also scared of going home at this hour ever since the incident, so she wasn't sure why her first response was to turn down the offer. But now, looking into the older woman's eyes, she could see the fear in them, like Emily was having the same thoughts and fears as hers.

So she nodded at Emily and smiled shyly. "Okay."

/

"Here are some clothes for you to sleep in." Emily said, setting the clothes on the bed of the guest room. Leonor was looking at one of photos on the shelf. "Bathroom is down the hall. I'll set down some towels and a toothbrush for you."

Leonor smiled gladly. "Thank you."

"This your team?" She asked, handing the photo frame to Emily.

They both sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the photo. That one was taken on Dave's birthday in his garden. She remembered how Morgan tried _several_ times to set the timer on the camera just right. Garcia sent them all a copy and she loved it and thought that it deserved to be framed and displayed.

"Yeah." She nodded, and proceeded to point at every person on the photo. "This one here is Jennifer Jareau, she is our media liaison. This one next to her is Dr. Spencer Reid, he's not a medical doctor but he has a PhD in basically everything you could get a PhD on. That one is SSA Derek Morgan. Standing next to him is our vibrant and bubbly technical analyst Penelope Garcia. This one is SSA David Rossi. That's me next to him, and then next to me is our Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner."

"I remember him. He was at the hospital with you, right?"

Emily nodded. "That's right."

"Don't get mad but I actually thought you guys were married or something."

"What?!" Emily laughed nervously. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, you just kind of like give out that _married couple_ vibe." Leonor shrugged.

"Well, we're just friends. Honestly, he's one of my closest friends."

"Do you not like him?" When Leonor didn't get an answer, she looked at Emily, studying her face. Then she gave out an exaggerated gasp. "Oh my god! You like him, don't you?" She teased the older woman.

Emily opened her mouth then closed it in an attempt to find an explanation. "Nope." That was all she had.

"You totally do." Leonor said decisively.

"Alright, you've had too much wine for tonight. Time for bed."

"Oh. There it is. The first stage – denial."

"The wine made you so woozy, honey. Time to get some sleep." Emily said, standing up from the bed to put the picture frame back on the shelf. She could hear Leonor giggling and she could swear it was the best sound she's ever heard.

Emily came back a little while later to give Leonor another blanket – only because she thought the other one was stiff and scratchy, though Leonor thought otherwise - and an extra pillow. "Hey, thought you might need these." She said, placing the items on the bed.

"Oh. Thank you. And I really had an amazing time today, so thank you."

Emily just nodded at Leonor. "Good night, Lee."

To her surprise, Leonor reached out and hugged her. "Good night." She whispered.

/

Emily was lying down in her bed, unable to sleep. She could feel how tired her body was, but somehow she was just not able to sleep. She debated calling him. Maybe telling him about her day would help get some of the adrenalin out of her. But it was late and it would be rude of her to do so if he was already asleep. In the end, however, her stubbornness won and the next thing she knew, she was waiting for him to answer on the other line.

"Hey." The husky voice in the other line greeted.

"Hi." Emily said shyly. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"You didn't. I was working on some files."

"Aaron Hotchner, it's Saturday night."

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? Jack is asleep."

"Yeah. Yeah." Emily giggled.

"So, what's up? How was your day with Leonor?"

Emily suddenly smiled. It really is nice to have someone ask how your day has been. It's a sign that at least one person cares enough to listen to you. "Great. Amazing. Emotional."

"Wow. That's… a lot."

"Yeah. But honestly, we had a great time. She's actually sleeping in the guest room right now. We lost track of time and I didn't wanna send her out alone this late, considering what happened last time."

"Right. That's a wise idea, and I'm glad she agreed. I guess she's not as stubborn as you."

"Oh shut up." They both laughed. "But, you know what – okay, I'm probably just imagining things- but, when it was time for her to go, I saw some fear and hesitation in her."

"It's called mother's instinct, Em." He said softly.

"Oh. I don't know-" But he cut her off.

"Emily, stop it. It's late and your daughter is just about to go out all alone. You saw her fear and hesitation, and it's most probably trauma from what happened to her, and you just reacted like how any parent should. That was Emily, the mother, not Agent Prentiss, the profiler."

Emily was silent for a little while, just letting the words sink in. _Her mother._ "Thank you, Aaron." She whispered.

"Now, shouldn't you be sleeping too?" He playfully scolded her.

"I am in bed and about to go to sleep, but I was just so excited to tell you about my day that I couldn't wait 'til tomorrow."

But before she could hear his response, Emily heard a blood-curling scream coming from the other room.

"Shit." She got up quickly and ran to the guest room. "Call you back!"

"Em, what's-" But the call ended before he could ask.

Emily busted through the door, not even thinking about knocking. She then saw Leonor sat up on her bed, crying.

"Lee! What's wrong? What happened?" She sat beside her daughter, trying to comfort her.

Leonor tried to wipe her tears, embarrassed about the whole situation. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"It's okay, honey. Did you have a nightmare?" Emily asked, and Leonor could only nod. "Oh Lee. Come here." She pulled the younger woman in her arms. "It's okay. You're okay."

Leonor tried her hardest to calm down immediately. But of course, it was easier to do it when someone is comforting you, like what Emily's doing right now. It reminded her of Amalia. As a child (and yes, even as an adult, _but she would not admit that just yet)_ , Leonor believed that every mother had a magic touch. They just make everything better. That's what she's been longing for since Amalia had passed – a mother's touch.

Emily held the crying woman tightly in her arms, gently rocking back and forth, trying to soothe her. "Do you want to talk about it? Talking helps, you know." She offered gently.

Leonor didn't nod nor shake her head. So Emily waited, and after a while, Leonor finally talked. "It's always the same dream." She whispered. "I was back in that dark room, all tied up. The man enters and starts beating me up. But I blink once and the man would suddenly turn into my father. He beats me repeatedly using his favorite rod that he likes beating me up with. It hurt then, and it still hurts now, even in my dreams. It felt so real." Leonor cried.

Emily pulled Leonor's shaking body tighter in her arms. The younger woman was clinging to her, her hands fisting her shirt like she's holding on for dear life. "Shhh. It's okay. It's okay, baby, you can cry it out. But you have nothing to be afraid of, honey. They can't hurt you anymore, especially now that you have me. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I promise you that." She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Leonor cried for a good while and Emily let her. She knew that letting out all the pent up emotions could really help, and hopefully will make Leonor feel a little lighter. Leonor only pulled back when she felt the painful throb in her head.

"My head hurts." She said so softly that Emily couldn't have heard her if she wasn't listening so intently.

She was immediately filled with concern. Maybe Leonor worked herself up too much that she got sick. "I'm going to get you-"

"No. Uhm. I have medicine in my bag."

"Oh. Alright." Emily stood up to retrieve the bag and hand it to Leonor. "Here. I'm going to get you some water, okay?" Leonor nodded.

Emily came back with a glass of water and a bottle of essential oil. "Here." She hand Leonor the glass, which the young woman gladly took.

"Thank you." She whispered, after taking her medicine, silently praying that it takes effect in mere seconds. The pain in her head was getting worse.

Emily put the glass down on the nightstand, and scooted up on the bed, with her back resting on the headboard. "Come here, sweetie. Lie down."

Leonor obliged and lied down beside her mother. "What's that?" She asked when she felt Emily's hand massaging her head.

"It's peppermint oil." She said gently. "It helps with the headache. Usually, I put it on a cotton ball and smell it, but for the bad ones, I like massaging it on my head. It will feel a little cold and minty, but it will help, okay?"

Leonor did not even argue. She liked the smell of peppermint, it soothed her. But what's helping her the most was being here with Emily. Truly, nothing could ever beat a mother's touch. The medicine was making her drowsy but she was fighting hard to stay awake, wanting more time with her mother.

"Go to sleep, Lee. Don't fight it." Emily whispered as she continued to massage her head.

"Can you stay with me? Please?" She heard Leonor ask. Her eyes closing, giving in to sleep. But she could definitely hear the vulnerability in her voice and she wanted nothing else but to hold her daughter and make her feel better. Emily had to wonder how many nightmare-filled nights Leonor had to endure all alone since the ordeal.

"Of course, sweetie. I'll stay with you." Emily lied down beside her daughter, continuing her soothing massage on Leonor's head. "Go to sleep, sweetheart. Everything's okay. You're okay."

Emily has never felt like this – so _maternal_. The rest of team has said that she always had been, that she had that maternal instinct that was so natural to her and that's why she gets to interview kid victims or witnesses. But she has never believed them – not until now.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's Saturday tomorrow." Emily said quietly. She was currently sitting on a hospital bed in the emergency room. They were in Montana, and long story short – it was a bad takedown and she ended up pretty beaten up. Hotch could already see the bruises forming on her face – one on her cheekbone and most probably a darker one on her eye, a busted upper lip and a bruised nose. Not to mention a concussion and that the left side of her ribs is hurting like a bitch – the unsub got a really good kick.

"It is." Hotch said, who was standing in front of her. When the medics decided to take Emily in for an X-ray, he didn't hesitate to come along with her.

"I wanted to take Leonor shopping tomorrow." She pouted.

"You can take her some other day, though. I'm putting you on medical leave for a week when we get back."

"But-" She pouted again.

"No _buts_." He smirked. "And stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting." She said stubbornly.

"Yes, you are. See? You're doing it right now." He teased, smiling at her still pouting face.

"Yeah? Well, I'm in pain and I can't go shopping with my daughter tomorrow like I wanted to so I think I'm allowed to pout."

"Of course." He smiled.

Three hours later, they were back on the jet. Emily immediately took the couch and passed out within minutes of take-off, the pain meds made her too drowsy.

/

Hotch was just placing the last pancake on the plate when the doorbell rang. Immediately, a hint of panic started to creep up within him. He didn't know if Emily was expecting someone today, much more this early – it was only 8:15AM.

He drove Emily home last night, and as per doctor's orders, had stayed with her the entire night. And now here he is, just finished making breakfast and about to wake up Emily but a little panicked as to who this early visitor might be.

He looked out the peephole and sighed. He opened the door to a younger brunette woman who seemed equally surprised to see him there.

"Uh, hi. Is Emily home?" Leonor said shyly.

"Hi. Yes, she's here, please come in." He said, stepping aside to make way. "I'm sorry, I'm Aaron Hotchner, I work with Emily." He said, reaching out his hand.

"Oh. Yeah, I remember you. I'm Leonor Villa." She said, accepting his hand to shake. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to intrude, I just didn't know that Emily would have a visitor today."

"Oh no. You're not intruding in any way. Emily told me about you. I supposed Emily forgot to tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"She uhm, she was pretty beaten up from the last case."

"Wha- Is she okay?" Hotch could see the worry in the young woman's eyes.

"We just got back late last night so she's still resting but she has a concussion and bruised ribs, busted lip, bruised nose, and most probably a nasty bruising on her cheek and eye."

"What?! Why didn't she tell me? She could've called." Leonor said, and Hotch could not decipher the mix of emotions in her tone.

"She probably forgot, she did tell me that you guys were supposed to spend the day together, but with all the pain meds making her drowsy, she must have forgotten to call you."

Leonor sighed. "She still sleeping?"

"Yes. But I was just about to wake her up. She needs to eat and take her pills. You can go wake her up." Hotch offered gently.

But suddenly Leonor had a conflicted look on her face. "I've never been in her room before. I don't want to intrude." She said quietly.

"C'mon," He urged her gently. "It'll be fine. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

Leonor agreed reluctantly and they made their way to Emily's room.

"Go on." He said quietly, deciding to remain by the doorway.

Leonor took a deep breath and slowly walked to the Emily's bed, sitting on the edge of it. She gasped as she saw the badly bruised face of her mother. " _Oh mom."_ She whispered, the term unconsciously slipping out of her. She put a hand on Emily's shoulder, waking her gently.

"Time to wake up. C'mon, sleepyhead." She said gently as Emily started to stir.

Emily tried her best to identify the person in front her. She was sure Hotch was with her the entire night, but this person had long hair. _Oh._ "Lee?" She asked, rubbing her hand on her eyes.

"Yeah. It's me."

"Aaron called you? Did I?" Leonor had to smile at the still slightly disoriented woman before her, but the worry still prevailed.

"No, silly. Aaron didn't call me and neither did you, apparently." She smiled.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She whispered, still seemingly tired.

"It's alright. Are you ready for breakfast? Your nice friend right here says you need to take your pills."

"Aaron's still here?"

"Yes. He's right there by the door, and he actually cooked a nice breakfast for you."

"Okay." It was all she said before she suddenly moved to sit up, somehow forgetting that she was beaten up not even 24 hours ago. She immediately recoiled in pain, her face contorted and her breathing suddenly rapid.

"Okay. Easy." Leonor said gently, guiding her mother back down on the bed. "You hurt your ribs, remember?"

 _Shit._ "Yeah, I definitely remember now." She gritted, still hissing in pain.

/

"It's okay, I can do that." Leonor offered quietly just as when Hotch had started to collect their dishes from breakfast. It has been a joyous meal for the three of them. Even though Leonor already had her fill of breakfast, she gladly joined them as per Emily's request. After that, Emily took her pills and settled on the couch, falling asleep not long after.

He paused for a second and considered. _He did need to get going._ He sighed. "Alright. Thanks." It was his weekend with Jack and he promised his son they would visit the museum today.

"You sure you can stay with her?" He asked again, he needed to make that Emily was not to be left alone.

She nodded and smiled "Positive, Agent Hotchner. My only plan for today was to spend it with her."

"Alright. And you can call me, Aaron."

"Right. Aaron."

"Okay. Her meds are on the counter, I've written a little schedule for it, so you know what time and what pills to give her. Showers are not recommended as of the moment, but a bath will do. Make sure she lies down and if she goes to sleep, you need to wake her up every two hours." Hotch explained carefully and intently to the young woman, as if Emily was a sick child that he's about to leave in the care of a newly employed sitter. But Leonor understands. She could see the worry and sincerity in his eyes, and at some point she had to wonder if this man cared more for her mother than a co-worker or a friend should.

"Got it. Baths, no shower and wake her up every two hours." Leonor said, assuring the still rather intimidating man in front of her that she remembers everything he said.

"And if she's running a fever, or is bleeding, take her to the hospital immediately."

"He's overreacting." Emily commented, dragging the last syllable of the word. Leonor and Hotch shared a laugh.

Once sobered down, Hotch turned to Leonor again and said. "I mean it."

"I know." She nodded.

"Listen, Emily is… not the best patient. She's more stubborn, will insist she doesn't need help, and will not tell you whether she's in pain. She's easily irritated, especially when she feels like she's being coddled. I don't know how she will be with you, but just be a little more patient, okay?"

"Okay." Leonor nodded slowly, trying to decipher if this man was really concerned for her for a moment there or just trying to make sure she doesn't murder Emily out of frustration. "Don't worry. It'll be a lazy day for us. I'll make sure she takes her rest."

"Okay. Well, I'll say good bye to her."

"Of course. And thank you, for looking after her." Leonor said gently, sincerely thanking this man for looking for her mother.

Leonor wanted to give them some time alone, so she decided to deal with the dishes while Hotch tries to say good bye to Emily.

He knelt down on the floor as she lays on the couch. Her eyes were closed so he wasn't sure if she's sleeping or not. He gently brushed away the strands of hair that fell over her face. "Hey, Em?"

"Yeah?" She replied, eyes still closed.

"You okay?" He knew it was a stupid question to ask, but he also didn't want to assume. And if her closing her eyes and lying still even though she's awake were any indication, there must be something wrong.

He saw her give that little pout again. "The pills make me nauseous. I don't want to take any more." She whined.

"I'm sorry, Em." He placed his hand over her stomach, gently rubbing it. Emily seemed to relax a little at his touch. "But you have to take them, just until tomorrow, okay? If you have to throw up, it's okay. Maybe that will make you feel a little better."

Emily's only reply was a groan and snuggled further into the couch. Hotch could tell that she was uncomfortable, and absolutely hated leaving her.

He sighed. "I have to go and get Jack. I promised him we'd go to the museum today. But Leonor will be staying with you, alright? Be nice to her." He smirked.

"Of course, I'll be nice. She's my daughter."

"Good to know. I'll come back later." With a final reminder to Leonor that Emily might throw up, and leaving his number to her, he headed out of the apartment. He doesn't have Jack overnight because his ex-wife insisted that she should take his son to see his grandparents on Sunday. Hotch was totally against the idea because the weekends were for him – that was what they agreed upon _legally._ But for the sake of not having another pointless argument with a woman who's not his wife anymore, he let it go. On the bright side, he could come back to Emily and take care of her. And maybe stay again, if she lets him.

When Leonor was done with the dishes, she noticed that Emily was still on the couch. So she grabbed her new book from her bag and sat on the other end of the couch, putting Emily's feet on her lap.

"Hey." Emily greeted groggily.

"Hi. Thought you were sleeping. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Of course, you are." She said, rolling her eyes.

"It's just the pills. They're making me nauseous."

"There's a bucket right there if you need to throw up." Leonor said, nodding to the plastic-covered bin that she placed on the floor.

Emily groaned and shifted on the couch. She slowly sat up beside Leonor and laid her head on her shoulder. "I wanted to take you shopping today." She said quietly.

"Why?" She chuckled.

"Just because." Emily simply said.

"You don't have to though."

"I know, but I want to spoil you a little. I'm not feeling well so don't fight me on it, okay? Once I'm feeling better, I'll take you shopping and you can get whatever you want." Emily rambled.

She chuckled. "Be careful what you wish for, mom." She teased.

There was silence between the two women after Leonor said the word. Leonor was not sure if it registered to Emily that she just called her _mom_ , and she's not sure if the older woman liked or not.

"You called me _mom."_ Emily muttered, her eyes closing again.

"Mhmm." Was her short, unsure reply. "Is that okay?"

Emily hummed in agreement. "Very okay." She said quietly, only enough for Leonor to hear.

Leonor could feel Emily slowly falling asleep, and sitting up was definitely not the sleeping position the older brunette needed to be in right now.

"C'mon. You need to lie down." Leonor said gently.

Emily huffed in annoyance. "I don't want to go to bed." She whined, and cuddled closer to her daughter.

Leonor couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully. _Agent Hotchner wasn't kidding._ "Uh uh. Whining does not work on me." She said sternly but playfully and stood up from the couch, gently pulling Emily with her. "C'mon. Stop whining and get your butt moving."

The two slowly made their way to bedroom, Emily slightly leaning on Leonor for support. Her head was pounding, the floor below her was spinning, her stomach is not settling, and she's just… hurting.

"Meanie." She pouted.

"Yeah, yeah." She dismissively said, gently pushing Emily back down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

Leonor sat on the edge of the bed while watching her mother sleep. It was then that she understood just how dangerous her job is. She knew her mother is an amazing agent and that she has an amazing team that she trusts, but she couldn't help but think that no matter how much protection you have, no matter how trained you are, no one can predict what happens next and every moment could be just as deadly.

"Oh mom." She whispered, gently brushing away the hair that fell on Emily's bruised face. She then tuck the blanket securely around Emily before quietly leaving the room. She went back only to put the bucket near the bed just in case she gets sick. She also replaced the water on the air humidifier and placed a couple of drops of lavender oil before turning it on. She knew it was Emily's favorite scent, and she does agree – the smell of lavender is very relaxing.

Leonor set up camp on the kitchen counter, making sure she set her alarm for two hours so she could wake up Emily, before starting on her mountain of readings.

Almost two hours into her studying, she heard a knock on the door. Leonor was a little concerned – she knew Hotch won't be back until tonight and he had not mention the prospect of any visitor. Add to that, she knew that to any of Emily's friends, she's just a stranger, and whoever it is on the other side of that door would be quite surprised to see _a stranger_ in Emily's apartment. True enough, when she opened the door, a brightly-dressed blonde with glasses, and another blonde with more subdued color of clothing, had surprised look on their faces.

"Uhm. Hi." She greeted awkwardly.

"Hi! I'm Penelope, and this is JJ. We're here to see Emily." Garcia said rather quickly, excitement in her tone. "We work with her." She added, as the younger woman still seemed confused.

"Oh right. Right. Please come in." She said, moving aside to let the visitors pass. _I remember now,_ she thought. Penelope and JJ – she saw them in the pictures. Her mother's friends and co-workers, her family.

"Oh forgive me for my manners, I'm Leonor, by the way." She said, stretching out her hand. "I uhm, I'm looking after Emily until Agent Hotchner comes back."

"Agent Hotchner?" JJ asked with a smirk.

"You mean, Agent Aaron Hotchner, our boss?" Garcia asked, and Leonor couldn't help but notice how her face lightened up.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess. Is there any other Agent Aaron Hotchner around?" She giggled nervously.

JJ could tell the younger woman was nervous, probably because of them. It was obvious that she was not expecting any visitors for Emily today. _But why do I feel like I've already seen her somewhere,_ she thought.

"So, Agent Hotchner was here? With Emily? I mean, he stayed with Emily?" Garcia asked again, now fully excited.

"Huh. He probably stayed the night too. The doctor didn't want to release her until he was sure that she will be staying with someone." JJ added.

"Oh. My gosh. I can see it happening. Gorgeous Prentiss-Hotchner babies!" She sqeauled.

Leonor actually giggled. It seems like she's not the only one who can see prospering love tandem of Aaron and Emily. "Uhm. I'm gonna go wake her up. She's been asleep for two hours now anyway. I'll tell her you guys are here."

Garcia turned to JJ with a serious look on her face. "Who do you think that is? I mean, it's not like our boss-man would hire a sitter for Emily, right? I mean, a world war 3 could happen if he even so suggests the idea of a sitter while she's sick."

"Or Emily could shoot Hotch and skillfully hide the body if he even mentions the idea." JJ said. "But I have this vibe… I feel like I've already met or seen her before?"

"Huh. Maybe you have?" Garcia said tentatively.

/

"Mom." Leonor said quietly, gently shaking Emily's should to wake her up. "Mom, you need to wake up." Still no reaction, no hum of annoyance, no movement, nothing, and Leonor started to worry.

"Emily Prentiss, I mean it. Wake up!" She said a little louder, shaking her shoulder a little harder. A few seconds later, Leonor finally received a response – a hum. "You need to wake up now, mom."

Emily grunted in annoyance, while the nausea seemed to have abated, the headache was still present. "Wha-?" She opened her eyes to see Leonor, her own glassy eyes form tears that threatened to fall. Leonor let out an audible sigh.

"Hey, mom. I'm sorry, but you know I have to wake you."

"Right." She said quietly.

"Now, can you tell me your name?" Leonor asked seriously.

Emily internally rolled her eyes. "Emily Prentiss."

"Good. Do you know where you are?"

"In DC, in my apartment, my bedroom."

"Right, that's right. And do you know who I am?" She asked teasingly.

 _Of course I do._ "Leonor Villa, my daughter."

"Great." She smiled. "Last question, do you happen to know two female blondes, one looking like a human version of rainbows and sunshine, and the other one like a human version of… uhm.. you know, human?"

Emily giggled at her description. "Yeah, Penelope and JJ. I work with them. You saw them from the picture I showed you."

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. And now, I've met them in person too." She said nervously.

"What? What do you mean?" Emily asked as she started to sit up, carefully that is.

"Well, they're in the living room right now. They just got here. I'm sorry, mom. I was surprised and nervous and I didn't know what to do, but I recognized them from the picture and it would be mean to turn them away. But oh god, you're probably not up for visitors right now. I'm sorry. I'll go tell them you're-"

"Lee, stop." Emily cut her off and held her hand. She hated to see her daughter like this, in distress, panicked, guilt-stricken, and she didn't even have to. "It's okay, honey. I would really like to see them anyway."

"You sure?"

"Very sure. Now come on, we better get out there or Garcia will start sending out a search party for us."

Emily's smile widened as she approached her best girl friends in the living room.

"Hey you." Garcia greeted. "You, my precious raven-haired beauty, should have an accident-prone sign with you all the time. Seriously, the number of heart attacks you give me every time I learn you got hurt! I mean it, missy. No more scaring us!"

"Penelope, it wasn't bad. Just a concussion – basically part of the job description." She lightly explained. "But thank you though, and I'm sorry that you worry." She said as she pulled her into a light hug, the only kind of hugs she could give at the moment.

"Hey Jayje." Emily hugged her other blonde friend.

"How are you feeling, Em?" JJ asked.

"Definitely better from yesterday, but still sore and a little sluggish. The nap helped though."

She didn't even notice that Leonor had diverted back into kitchen until she came back, holding a tray with three mugs and a plate of sugar cookies.

"Uhm, I'm not sure if you'd rather prefer coffee, but Emily can't have some, so to avoid torturing her, I've decided on tea, but I can replace it if you like." She said, her voice fading at the last sentence.

"Lee, you didn't have to do this." Emily said.

But Leonor just smiled back at her. "It's okay."

"Thank you. You're very nice. And I agree that there's no need to torture Emily right now, so tea is fine with us." JJ said kindly.

"Yes. Oh and these cookies are adorable! Look at the cute pastel frosting!" Garcia gushed.

"Uhh where did they come from? I'm pretty sure I didn't have those in my fridge." Emily said.

"Oh. I brought them. I made them early this morning before coming here." Leonor explained.

"But you were here at like 7!"

"That's why I said _early this morning_." Leonor chuckled at her mother. "Anyway, you girls have a good time, I'll be starting on lunch." She pointed to JJ and Garcia, "You two better be staying. I sometimes don't take no for an answer." She said before strutting back into the kitchen.

"Wow. She's… something." JJ said.

But Garcia had another topic in mind. She looked at Emily with a huge grin on her face. "Okay. Spill. What's the deal between you and our boss-man?"

"Wha-? What do you mean? There is nothing to spill."

"Really? So him spending the night to take care of you isn't _something_?" JJ said with a teasing smile.

"Doctor's orders, you know that." The brunette explained.

"Yeah, and I also know that you will fight tooth and nail just so you can avoid being coddled. C'mon, Em. You're not fooling us."

"You could've just told that you only want to be coddled by Hotch." Garcia added.

"Or _cuddled."_ JJ and the two blondes laugh.

"Ooh! Is Hotch a cuddler?" Garcia asked Emily like it's the most natural thing to ask.

"I can't imagine Hotch being a cuddler, or just being romantic for that matter. He's just… Hotch to me." JJ said.

A while later, the four women enjoyed a lovely lunch of spaghetti with garlic bread and some tuna salad, all courtesy of Leonor. Emily was beyond thankful that her nausea had passed, otherwise she wouldn't be able to enjoy this amazing meal.

"I didn't know you could cook this good, Lee!" Emily exclaimed.

"Emily's right. This is amazing. David Rossi better watch his back." Garcia said.

"I'm not sure who David Rossi is, but thanks." Leonor said shyly. She's nervous as hell. She and Emily hasn't talked about her meeting the rest of the team. Hell, she doesn't even know if Emily wants them to know who she really is. It's Emily's story to tell. Thankfully, though, JJ and Garcia never asked. They probably could tell she was nervous around them and just decided to drop the subject off.

Leonor retreated to the guest room to continue studying while JJ and Garcia stayed with Emily for a few more hours. Emily loved her best girl friends, but they can be a handful, especially when you're hurt and outside of work. She felt utterly exhausted once they left and decided that another nap was needed. But first though, she wanted to check in with her daughter, wanted to thank her for the amazing lunch, and wanted to apologize because she knew how uncomfortable she was.

She knocked on the guest room door lightly, but receiving no reply, she opened it slowly. Her face softened instantly at the sight before her. Leonor was asleep, sprawled out on the bed, lying on her stomach with a bunch of papers around her.

"Oh honey." She whispered before walking towards the bed. Leonor was on her final year of law school, and because of this, life has been hectic for the young woman. Most of her time was spend studying, only taking necessary breaks for food or shower, she even studies any chance she gets at work. Emily couldn't help but worry about her daughter's health.

With a sigh, she tried to wake up Leonor, or at least just enough for her to move under the covers.

"Lee, c'mon honey." She shook her shoulder slightly.

"What?" Leonor asked, seemingly disoriented.

"Move under the covers, sweetie." Emily said quietly and Leonor complied.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"About 2:30. Definitely nap time." Emily answered, getting all the papers into one pile and placing them beside her bag on the floor. "Scoot over. You're not the only one who needs a nap." She smiled.

Leonor shuffled as Emily got comfortable beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little tired. I forgot how those two can be outside of work, especially Garcia." Emily explained as she could see Leonor set the alarm for two hours.

"Hmm." Was all the answer she got. Leonor was back asleep and a few moments later, Emily was too.

/

"I received this the other day." Emily said, handing Hotch a brown envelope. It was later in the evening, Leonor had went back to her place once Hotch arrived after dinner.

Emily started to feel so much better as the day progressed, although the bruises were still very visible. Now, they're both in bed, ready to call it a night.

"What's this?" Hotch asked.

"Uhm." Emily started nervously. "I had some DNA tests done – for Leonor and I." She said quietly.

"And?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I haven't opened it yet. I'm… scared."

Emily Prentiss admitting that she's scared is a very rare occurrence. _Heck, Emily Prentiss getting scared is a very rare occurrence._ So Hotch knew that this really mattered to her, and she wants to see the results that she expects.

"You're doubting her?" Hotch prodded.

Emily shook her head. "I'm doubting myself." And with that, Hotch didn't ask any more.

He opened the envelope, took the paper out and read it. He showed no emotions, no no expressions. Emily hated it when he does that – become Agent Hotchner when he's at home.

"So?" She asked shakily.

"I believe congratulations are in order, Agent Prentiss. You have a daughter." He smiled, which broadened as Emily sighed in relief.

"So.." Hotch started once they were cuddled in bed. "I know a lot has been going on with you right now, but I was thinking –"

"Now that's dangerous." She teased and they both chuckled.

"I was thinking maybe… I could take you out to dinner?"

Emily's widened as she lifted her head up to look at him. "Dinner? You mean like a date? Or just dinner?"

He laughed at her. Hotch sometimes wondered who was the lawyer among them. "I mean like a date." He smiled.

Emily stopped and just stared at him for a while, and Hotch was suddenly in fear that maybe she'd decline. Finally, she dropped her head on his chest again and cuddled impossibly closer. "I'd like that. I'd like really like that."

"Good." He smiled. "So next Friday, if we're in town."

"Friday. In town." Emily mumbled, her eyes finally closing.

Hotch couldn't help but drop a light kiss on her head. "Yeah, Friday, in town. Good night, Em."


	6. Chapter 6

Hotch pulled up and parked the car in front of Emily's apartment building. He got out and helped Emily out of the car too.

Emily had low expectations every time she dates, but Aaron freaking Hotchner just set the bar to the highest level. He arrived on time – none of her previous dates ever arrived on time. He already made dinner plans at this amazingly elegant restaurant that she wouldn't even dream of spending her money on. They took a walk around the park, _while eating ice cream,_ and just _talked._ Her previous dates would usually take her to a bar and then try to get home with her ON THE FIRST DATE. So, call her hopeless romantic, but that was the most romantic thing for Emily Prentiss.

"Wow, and they say chivalry is dead." She teased.

"Would you like to come up?" She asked him. They were standing in front of the building and Emily couldn't help but shiver as it started to cold during the night.

Hotch didn't miss it though, so he pulled her closer and rubbed his hand gently up and down her back. "I shouldn't" He quietly said. They looked at each other for quite a while. Yes, there were times that they'd sleep together, but that was platonic; that was being a close friend; that was when Hotch was able to control himself because he doesn't know if Emily feels the same way; that was when they had boundaries. But now, every bit of self-control he has seemed to be slipping away. Emily knew what he meant. Neither of them wanted to ruin whatever beautiful thing they've started.

"Okay." She nodded.

"I'll see you on Monday." He said, placing a gently kiss on her forehead.

She looked up at him shyly and asked, "Can I at least get a proper kiss goodbye?"

He chuckled. "You're adorable."

"Just don't say that in front of the team or an unsub." She teased. Finally, he gave her a proper kiss goodbye, and boy, was he an amazing kisser.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She could feel his arms around her waist and just a sudden flutter of warmth filled her. _Being in his arms felt safe._ They were catching their breaths once they pulled away.

"Thank you, Aaron. I had amazing time, and I… I would really like to do it again." She said shyly, blushing profusely. Hotch thought it was adorable though.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked and leaned in for another kiss, which she gladly responded to.

"Mhmm." She murmured as they pulled back. "Definitely." She kissed him again.

Hotch couldn't help chuckle into the kiss. He liked this Emily – unguarded, laid-back, relaxed, and even more beautiful.

"Good night, Em." He said as they pulled back again.

"Good night."

/

As Emily stepped out of the elevator, she could already see a small figure sitting on the floor by her door. As she walked closer, the young woman lifted her head up and looked at Emily.

"Leonor!" Emily gasped. Leonor stood up rather slowly, her body racked up with chills from sitting out in the cold hallway for quite some time. However, she remained silent.

"Oh, you're freezing, honey." She said as she took her daughter's hand. "C'mon, let's get inside and get you warmed up."

The young woman took her duffel bag alongside another backpack and followed Emily inside. As Emily locked the door and turned to Leonor, she was just about ready to chastise her daughter for knowing better than to sit out in a cold hallway at night. But before she could even utter a word, Leonor launched herself at her, sobbing and tightly clinging on for dear life.

Hearing her daughter breakdown like that and not knowing why or what to do broke her heart. But Emily just held her tight and rocked her gently, trying to soothe away all her troubles.

"What's wrong, hon? What's gotten you so upset, hmm?" She asked as Leonor continued to sob, her face buried on Emily's chest. "Shhh. It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay. Can you tell me what's wrong?" She asked gently. Emily was surprised by the tone of her voice, it was like something she'd heard of before. _If that's even possible._

"I'm s-sorry!" Leonor sobbed, her voice muffled by Emily's coat.

"What are you apologizing for, honey? What's going on?" She asked again, desperately hoping to finally get some answer. But Leonor didn't respond, and she's decided that maybe her daughter needed a good cry before she can talk about it. So she let her.

When Leonor's heartbreaking sobs finally turned into hiccups and sniffles, Emily moved them to couch, gently sitting her down and covering her with the warm blanket that always hung on the back of the couch. The younger woman pulled her legs and curled up tighter on the couch, Emily decided to give her some time and make some tea instead – something to warm her up. Although she was sure that all the crying Leonor did warmed her up already.

Leonor sat up when she felt the dip on the other side of the couch. She took the mug that Emily offered her, slowly sipping the tea and welcoming the warmth.

Emily wait until she felt that Leonor was calm enough before she started with the questions. "What's wrong, Lee? What happened?"

"It's all messed up." She cried, and Emily took the mug from her shaking hands to avoid it from spilling.

"What do you mean?" Emily prodded, gently rubbing a soothing hand on her daughter's back.

Leonor hastily wiped her tears. She was embarrassed enough for coming here, and now she was embarrassed for having a total breakdown. "It has been hectic in school, with midterms and all that. I missed a lot of days at work, I already missed a lot beforehand. But I couldn't –" She sobbed.

"It's okay. Take your time. You're okay." Emily cooed. She knew how hard her daughter worked in school. Leonor didn't want _good enough_ or _okay_ grades, she wanted the best and the highest grades. And in law school, in order to achieve that, it meant probably 300% harder work than normal. Due to her exams, Leonor actually had to cancel several weekends with her, but she understood.

"I couldn't risk losing the scholarship, I will be graduating by the end of this school year. But I lost the job instead." She whispered.

"The money I saved up were just enough to pay a month of rent, the allowance I get was barely enough for reading materials I have to get, let alone food and other things." Sarah, her flat-mate had to go back to Atlanta about a month ago to tend to her sick mother, and so Leonor was left all alone to shoulder the rent. She was intending on looking for a cheaper place, but she barely had time to sleep.

"When the rent ran out, the landlord gave me 10 days to pack-up and leave. I didn't know where to go, so I left all the furniture there and took my clothes and other personal stuff. I left more than a week ago."

Emily's heart was breaking as she heard what's been happening to her daughter. Honestly, she was mad at herself for not knowing, for letting her daughter suffer yet again. She knew Leonor was just as stubborn and as independent as her, and with that, Leonor never liked asking for help, feeling like she'd only be a burden to others. The rational part of her mind was saying that she couldn't have known, she hasn't seen her daughter in almost a month, understanding that the young woman was just as busy as her. They communicated but Leonor never said anything, nor did she sound upset when she talked to her. But then again, the other part was saying that she should have known.

As Emily was processing what Leonor had just said, she realized something. Leonor said she left the apartment more than a week ago, so that could mean…

"Leonor, where were you staying? Why didn't you come here straight away, honey?"

The young woman wiped her tears as she calmed down. "You were on a case then." She shook her head. "And I don't want to be a burden. I'm an adult for god's sake. I should be able to take care of things."

"But it's okay to ask for help, Lee, especially when you're struggling. And please never ever think that you're a burden to me. You're my daughter, you're never a burden, my love." She said, pulling Leonor into a tight embrace.

"Where were you staying, hon?" She asked again when as she pulled back, realizing that Leonor never answered her question.

Leonor sighed. "At a shelter. There was one near campus, just about a 15-minute walk." Emily gasped upon hearing this. Her daughter has been basically homeless, and she never should have been. She has a home right here.

"It was full, but I begged the lady to let me stay and she did. I figured it was better than nothing, especially since it was mid-terms week then." Leonor explained. "But some people were horrible, mom!" She spat, looking at Emily with tear-stained eyes. "They kept stealing my things. By the end of the week of staying, that's all that was left." She said, nodding to the duffel bag and the backpack. She was just honestly thankful that they didn't steal any of her books or school materials, otherwise there would have been hell to pay.

"I'm sorry!" Leonor sobbed again, covering her face with her hands. "I just didn't know where else to go. I know this isn't exactly what you need right now – a dependent adult. I just didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry." She sobbed.

Emily gently tried to pull her hands away from her face. "Hey. Shhh. Shh. Come here, honey. Let me hold you." She cooed, as she gently pulled Leonor into her arms, placing light kisses on the top of her head.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully. Can you do that?" She asked and felt Leonor nod against her shoulder. "I know you're feeling a little lost right now, and maybe defeated too. I know the feeling of wanting to do something – wanting to turn your life around – but not having the means to do it. Trust me, I've been there. But sweetheart, it does get better. It's okay to ask for help, that never makes you a burden. You're never a burden to me, Lee. I will keep repeating that until you start to believe it. You're home – this is your home, our home. Everything's okay now, love. And if you feel like it's not, then we'll make it okay. I promise you that."

/

Emily insisted that Leonor eat something before going to bed, and so she insisted on making her favorite sandwich. Emily knew what kind of sandwich her daughter liked – chicken ham, bacon, provolone, shredded lettuce and cucumber on honey oat bread, pressed and toasted - and so she made sure that she would always have the ingredients in her fridge for when her daughter stays over.

"Slow down, hon, the food's not going anywhere." Emily lightly teased as she saw how fast Leonor devoured her food. It was clear that the younger woman hasn't had a decent meal in quite some time.

When Emily knocked on the guest room door about an hour later, Leonor was just getting settled in bed.

"Hey." She said as she padded over to the bed.

"Hi." Leonor got under the covers, intending to stay warm since she always gets cold so easily.

Emily sat on the edge of bed, facing Leonor. "How are you feeling?" She asked, brushing away strands of hair from her face. That's when she noticed that her skin was unusually warm. "You feel feverish, hon." She said, placing her hand on Leonor's forehead then on her cheek. _Definitely feverish._

Leonor just sighed leaned further into her mother's touch, her heavy eyes falling close from the comfort and warmth. As Emily watched her daughter sleep, it dawned on her – Leonor needs to be a _Prentiss_ legally. If Leonor had remained with her, she would not be suffering financially like she is now, and Leonor deserved every penny that was robbed off from her.

In all honesty, once Emily found out about Leonor, she talked to her lawyer, wanting to integrate Leonor in her life legally. If that happens, she could institute Leonor as her only descendant and therefore her only heir, in case something happens to her. Leonor would also have an inheritance from the Prentiss estate, which honestly is a lot of money, probably more than what Emily could give her daughter. If Leonor had stayed with her – if she was never given away – she would have a trust fund which she could've accessed to when she turned 20. Emily's grandfather set up his estate so that every descendant Prentiss would have a trust fund. But the lawyer told her that they needed to get DNA tests done because it is the strongest proof that she and Leonor would ever have if they were ever questioned. Now that she has that, she will not waste any more time.

/

Leonor woke up early the next morning in chills, slightly confused and with a pounding headache. 6:23 AM, the clock on the bedside table shows. She then got reminded of the events last night, how embarrassed she was for running back to her mother when everything has failed. But Leonor was too tired and too achy to even think. Her eyes closed again, the exhaustion of the past weeks getting on to her.

By the time Emily woke up, it was already past 8 AM. After her morning routine, she checked her phone, seeing a number of messages from Hotch. She didn't even get to check her phone last night once she came home. Hotch's last text was an hour ago.

 _Hey! Not to sound too clingy, but hope everything's going well? You didn't text back last night and I'm kind of worried (hazard of the job). - A_

Emily actually smiled. Clingy was the last thing on her mind. She knew that Hotch was sincerely worried about her. Heck anyone in the team would be if they didn't hear back from one of them. They just see too much evil to risk it.

 _Good morning! Sorry about that. Something came up at home. Fill you in later. – E_

Hotch finally sighed in relief seeing Emily's name on his phone screen. But he was filled with worry again as to what kind of situation Emily was talking about.

 _Alright. If you need anything, I'm here – call or text. I mean it. – A_

Emily smiled reading his reply. _I know. I appreciate it. Call you later. xx – E_

With that, Emily finally started on breakfast. She just started the coffee pot when she realized that Leonor has not come out yet, and so she headed to the guest room to see how she's doing.

"Lee?" She called softly after knocking on the door. "Honey, is everything okay?" Getting no reply, she gently opened the door to see that Leonor was still sleeping.

Emily walked up to the bed to try and wake her up, but as soon as her hand came in contact with her cheek, she gasped, feeling heat radiating from the younger woman.

"Oh sweetheart, you're burning up."

"Mm." Leonor moaned at the feeling of the cold hand on her face.

Emily rushed out to get the thermometer, fever reducer, and a cool damp cloth. When she returned to the room, she sat down on the edge of the bed facing Leonor.

"I'm just going to check your temperature, hon." She said, gently placing the thermometer in her ear. _102._ Emily sighed. If it spikes up throughout the day, she'd need to be taken to the hospital.

"Leonor, can you sit up a little, honey? You need to take some medicine."

Leonor grunted but complied, using one of her elbows to support her body, she sat up just enough to take the pills and drink the water. Afterwards, she plopped back down on the bed with a grunt.

"Achy." She whimpered, her face crumpled in discomfort

"I know, baby. I know. I'm sorry." Emily cooed, now wiping her face and neck with a cool damp cloth. She could see the discomfort in Leonor's face and it was absolutely breaking her heart.

Leonor whimpered again. "No more… cold.." She said, trying weakly to pry Emily's hand away.

"Okay. Okay, honey, no more." Emily sighed. "You want to try some breakfast?"

Leonor shook her head. Although she hasn't thrown up yet, the thought of putting something solid in her stomach already makes it flip.

"Alright. We'll try again at lunch. Just rest now, hon." Emily said, kissing her daughter's heated forehead and tucking the blanket a little tighter.

She was just about to get up and leave the room when Leonor spoke. "Get… blanket…" She murmured rather incoherently.

"What do you mean, hon? You want another blanket?" She asked, trying to decipher what her daughter to say.

"No… my blanket."

"Your blanket? Where?"

"Bag" She whispered tiredly. Emily stood up to rummage through Leonor's bag. She doesn't know what she's looking for, but just maybe try to find something looking like a blanket and hope it's what Leonor was looking for.

Eventually, Emily came across a very familiar piece of cloth. It was the blanket she gave Leonor, the baby blanket that she knitted for her. She grabbed the blanket and walked back to Leonor.

"This what you're looking for, honey?" She asked, handing her the little blanket.

Though her eyes were closed, Leonor knew it was the right one. So she gladly accepted it, clutching it closely to her, and tucked it under the blanket with her. Emily's heart warmed at her half-conscious gesture. She didn't realize that Leonor treasured the blanket so much, it seemed like a safety zone for the younger woman, something that gave her comfort and security.

"Rest now, my love." She said, kissing Leonor's forehead again. After making sure that there was a plastic-covered bucket beside the bed and that the black-out curtains are closed, blocking out any uncomfortable streaks of light, Emily quietly left the room.

And so Emily tackled breakfast alone, after which she took to cleaning her apartment and then the laundry. Before she knew it, it was past lunch time. Knowing that Leonor has not had any meal yet, she quickly cooked her favorite chicken soup from scratch, her own comfort food.

As she was just finishing the soup, she heard quiet noises and figured that Leonor must have woken up. Moments later, the younger woman was making her way to the dining table.

"Hey you." Emily greeted gently, pouring the soup into the bowl. "Up for some lunch?"

But Leonor didn't answer and just remained seated on the table with her head buried in her arms. Emily didn't mind though and just continued preparing the food, including a quick chicken taco salad for her, and placing it on the table.

"C'mon, hon. You need to eat." She gently coaxed her daughter. Finally, Leonor lifted her head up, which felt incredibly heavy. She still felt achy but she knew that if she didn't start to move around, she'll only feel worse. Hence, she walked into the kitchen for food instead of taking it in her room.

Emily place her hand on Leonor's forehead and cheek once she lifted her head. "I think your fever spiked up, hon." She said, worry etched in her tone. "You feel awful, huh?" She cooed.

Leonor just nodded, and started to stir the soup, just holding the spoon up took so much energy. Seeing that her daughter finally started eating, Emily did the same. The entirety of lunch time was filled with comfortable silence. Leonor managed to finish half of the soup, which delighted her mother.

"Shower." Leonor mumbled after taking her medicine, standing up from the chair.

"Yeah, I was going to suggest that, try to get the fever down. Not too long though, alright?"

Leonor nodded. "Can I borrow pajamas?" She asked shyly.

She had never sounded so small to Emily, and it broke her heart. She looked like a little girl who's scared of getting scolded because she asked for something. Emily did remember Leonor mentioning how her things were stolen at the shelter and her duffel bag seemed almost empty when she came looking for blanket.

Emily pulled Leonor in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Of course, honey. I'll lay them out on the bed for you, okay?" Leonor nodded against her chest, not wanting to break the comforting contact just yet.

/

"Hey." She greeted the person on the other line. It was more of a sigh and did not go unnoticed to Hotch. Leonor was finally settled on the bed after her shower. Emily also volunteered to blow dry Leonor's hair before she goes to sleep in order to avoid any more discomfort for the younger woman.

"Hey back. Everything okay?" Emily sounded tired and it worried him.

"Yeah- I mean, no. I don't know." She sighed again. "Leonor's here, she came in last night. I found her in the hallway sitting on the floor by the door. It's really cold at night, Aaron."

"There's more to it, isn't there?"

He heard Emily sigh again. "She's been so busy in school and has been missing work, she was eventually fired. Because of that, she couldn't pay the rent and had to move out. We were on a case and so she stayed in a shelter for a week. Her things kept getting stolen and so she moved out and waited out in the hallway. A freaking shelter! And she barely have any clothes left! Humanity is disgusting, I swear to god!"

Hotch knew she wasn't finished, and so he just waited for her to calm down. He wasn't wrong.

"Now she's really sick. Her fever's high, not throwing up though, so I don't know if it's just a 24-hour thing or something else."

"And how are you?" He asked gently.

"I'm… I don't know."

"It's not your fault, Em."

"But why does it feel like it is?"

"You know I would tell you if it is, right?" He asked teasingly, but Emily knew he meant it. Both of them are not afraid to call out on each other's shit, or when they're wrong. This is one of the reasons why Emily thinks that this will work- that she and Hotch will work.

"It's not your fault." He repeated firmly. "Life gets us sometimes and it just so happened that life got Leonor at this moment. But she's basically a younger version of you – strong, fierce, and determined – so I have no doubt that she will overcome this, especially now that she has you. She'll be okay, you'll both be."

"Thank you." Emily said softly, thanking the heavens that she has someone who knows exactly what to say. "Hey, uh, if we ever get a case this weekend, can I stay behind? I just don't want to leave Leonor right now. I'll conference in though, have it set up with Garcia."

"Of course. You don't have to work the case though, Em, you know that."

"Alright." She sighed. "And Monday-"

"Emily Prentiss." Hotch cut her off. "Take the time off, focus on your daughter and yourself. The Bureau owes you the hours anyway."

"Thanks, Aaron. For everything."

"You're welcome. I'll miss you though." He said playfully.

"I'll miss you too. I'm missing you now." She whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

Emily took a short nap after her conversation with Hotch, making sure that she set the alarm for an hour and a half.

When she woke up, Emily walked back to Leonor to check up on her. As soon as she opened the door, she could hear the loud whimpers from the younger woman who was tossing and turning on the bed, her breaths shallow.

"Leonor!" Emily ran to up, placing her hand on Leonor's forehead. _Too hot._ She grabbed the thermometer and placed in her hear. _104.5_.

"Shhh. Shh. Easy. Just calm down, baby. Don't move too much." Emily tried to hold her down, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and the other on her waist. At this point, Leonor let out loud sob and Emily pulled her hand back.

"Okay. Okay, honey. We're going to the hospital, okay?" Emily quickly ran out of the room to put on her jacket and get her purse and another jacket for Leonor. After gathering Leonor's necessary cards and documents, Emily tried to sit her up and put a jacket on her.

It was a struggle just to get to the car and getting out and into the emergency room, but they somehow made it. They were sent to the exam room immediately and Emily watched as two nurses take Leonor's vitals and try to make her as comfortable as possible.

A few minutes later, the doctor came in. "Hi, I'm Dr. Rebecca Waltz." She offered her hand to Emily.

She gladly took it, thankful that a doctor was finally here. "Agent Emily Prentiss. This is my daughter, Leonor."

"Hey, Leonor." The doctor approached the younger, who still seemed to uncomfortable, and started checking on her. "She's disoriented and seemed to be in malaise." Emily heard her say.

"Since when was this fever?" The question was directed to Emily.

"Just early this morning. She wasn't throwing up, even had lunch and was able to walk around the house. It got worse just this late afternoon so I decided to take her in." Emily shakily answered, extremely worried for her who can't seem to calm down.

"Leonor? I'm gonna to push up your shirt, okay?" The doctor explain as she did. Then Emily heard a gasp.

"How long ago did she get this cut?" The doctor asked with urgency in her voice.

Emily's eyes widened in shock. "What cut?!" She walked closer to the bed and gasped as she saw what the doctor was talking about. On the left side of her waist was a cut, about 3-5 inches long, red angry skin and seemed to be filled with puss.

Her world seemed to stop. She didn't know what happened after that, didn't hear anything coherent except _infection, septic shock, operating room._ Before she knew it, Leonor was being wheeled out of the room and that snapped her out of her trance.

"What's happening? Where are you taking her?!" She asked desperately.

"Agent, we need to operate on her now before she goes into septic shock. We need to take out the infected tissues in order to prevent the infection from spreading out. You can wait in the OR waiting area on the 4th floor. I'll be back to you shortly."

/

Emily was pacing in the waiting room. It's been more than two hours and she hasn't settled down since. _A cut. A freaking cut. Where the hell did that come from? Why hasn't she mentioned it?_ There were a lot of questions that she desperately needed Leonor to answer, but she knows she has to wait. In all honesty, she was raging. Whoever has done this to her daughter will never see the light of day again.

"Emily!" She looked when she heard that familiar voice, only to see Aaron making his way into the waiting room.

She practically ran up to him. "Aaron!" She sobbed as she fell into his waiting arms. "She has a cut! A huge one. I don't know where it came from, she never mentioned it. Someone hurt her! Someone hurt my baby!" She cried into his chest.

Hotch rubbed his hand up and down her back, trying to soothe that woman he has fallen for. "Shhh. Don't get yourself too worked up, Em. She'll be okay, you have to believe that."

Emily had eventually calmed down. She cuddled closed to Hotch, radiating strength from him, as they waited for news about her daughter.

 _4 hours later._

"Agent Prentiss?" Emily's head shot up to find Dr. Waltz approaching them.

"How is she?"

"She made it through. To say that she's very lucky is an understatement. If you would've brought her in a few minutes later, I don't think I could say the same."

Emily nodded tightly, grasping Hotch's hand as if her life depended on it.

"The cut was severely infected. It's 4.6 inches long and about 5cm deep, estimated about 4 days old, and I honestly have no idea how she managed, with all that blood loss. There has been intensive damage inside too and we had to remove a significant amount of damaged tissues. The infection has spread into her bloodstream, and has developed into sepsis. Fortunately, hers is a mild case as we were able to determine it early. But we won't take any chances. Sepsis is life-threatening, and it could lead to major complications such as organ failure. Leonor has to undergo aggressive treatments in order to give her the best chance possible. We will be keeping her in the ICU for now."

"Can I see her?"

"Not yet, I'm sorry. She has to stay in the recovery room for 1-2 hours. I'll make sure a nurse gets you once she's transferred to the ICU."

/

Only one visitor at a time was allowed in the ICU, and it has strict visiting hours of 8 AM to 12 PM and 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Emily sat vigilantly beside Leonor's bed, holding her heated hand between hers. She was told that Leonor was under strong antibiotics, among others, and a strong sedative to keep her out hopefully until the next day, to give her body a chance to recover and avoid distress.

Leonor was too pale and too fragile and too thin. Emily had to wonder how it came to this point. Leonor was smart enough to know that she needed medical attention; that she could go to Emily at any time. But why didn't she do that? Emily had a lot of questions but those didn't matter. Her only concern now is Leonor, and her recovery, and give her all the best things in life that she truly deserved.

Emily kissed the younger woman's hand. "Everything will be okay, honey. You're going to get better, the doctors will fix you right up, alright? You must be feeling awful, hon. But don't worry, they're giving you the best treatment there is. After all of this, once you've finally recovered, you'll be staying with me. I was thinking maybe we could go on vacation. The Bureau owes me the days. We could go anywhere you want. Just say it, and I'll make it happen. Everything's okay, Lee. You just focus on getting better, alright?"

Emily reluctantly left the ICU by 5:30 PM, leaving strict instructions to the nurses and doctors that if anything were to happen, they'd call her. Due to Leonor technically being a foreigner in the US, she doesn't have any emergency contacts. Emily had to explain to them her situation and that she's the only contact person Leonor has in the US, even though she's not listed as one.

"Aaron! You're still here?" Emily was shocked to see Hotch by the chairs in the hallways outside the ICU.

"Where else would I be?" He asked, and Emily just flung herself onto him. He wrapped his arms around her and she melted into his embrace.

"Stay with me tonight." It was more of a statement, not a question. When Emily opened her mouth to argue, he cut her off. "I know you, Emily Prentiss. You won't eat, won't sleep until you can get back here tomorrow morning. You're no good to Leonor if you beat yourself up. Stay with me. You're taking care of her, please let me take care of you."

"Jack…"

"Will love having you around." He smiled at her. "He's with his cousins who are visiting and I'm getting him back after dinner. We have time to get things from your place and then dinner. What do you say?"

"Okay." Emily nodded.

/

3-year old Jack was finally asleep in his bed after requesting bedtime stories from both Hotch and Emily each. And how could they deny such a sweet boy?

"Bed?" He asked but Emily shook her head. "Tea?" Emily nodded.

Hotch came back to the couch, sitting beside Emily and handing her tea, keeping a slight distance between them. They drank in silence, and Emily placed her mug on the coffee table when was done.

"Her bag was almost empty." Emily whispered, breaking the silence between. "I went through her bag because she wanted her blanket and I noticed it was almost empty."

Emily covered her face with her hands and cried. "How could I have let this happen? Why didn't I notice that freaking cut?!"

"There was this time I persuaded Haley to go out with her friends, you know, relax and have some girl time. It was a first time for me to look after Jack all by myself. He was one year old and liked to explore just about everything. Eventually, I got distracted by a case file I was reading, until I heard a loud thud and the most heartbreaking cry. Turns out, he made his way to the kitchen and pulled out a drawer that I forgot to lock. He fell down and hit his head. Fortunately the drawer didn't fall on top of him. I swear to you Haley almost called child services on me."

Emily looked at him in wonder and Hotch could see the question in her eyes. "The thing about parenting is that, your child will eventually learn that you do not have magical powers, that you're just going with the flow as much as they do, and yet you're still a hero in their eyes. It's not your fault, Em. You have to believe that."

Hotch pulled Emily to him and held her tight as she cried all her worries and fears away. Eventually, the exhaustion and stress of the day caught up on her, and before he knew it, Emily's body finally relaxed and her breathing became even.

He gently shifted and carried her into his arms. He could feel Emily snuggle further into him and couldn't help but smile as she murmured incoherently in her sleep. He gently placed her on the bed and tucked her in. After finishing his night routine, he got on beside her and Emily immediately snuggled into him.

Even in her sleep, Hotch could see the tension on her face; her brows knitted in worry. So he couldn't help but run a finger on her face in feather-like touches as he kissed her forehead.

"Shhh. No thinking; not tonight. Just sleep, sweetheart."

/

Emily was walking along the corridor of the hospital to Leonor's room. She got a call earlier that morning informing her that Leonor would already be transferred into a private room, and she made sure that her daughter got the best and biggest room there is.

She could the faint cries of a woman and a few voices trying to contain the crying the woman. As she got closer to Leonor's room, the cries got louder. She felt the blood drain from her face as she realized that those heartbreaking cries were coming from Leonor herself.

"What happened?" She demanded answers as she walked through the door.

"She woke up panicked. She's still disoriented." One of the nurses answered. There were three nurses trying to hold her down as Leonor pulled out her IV.

"Back off. Back off! I've got it!" Emily pushed them away, as the presence of two intimidate male nurses seemed to scare her even more.

"Leonor?" She called out gently. "Lee, it's me." She said as she approached the bed.

Leonor was sitting and curled up on the bed, her knees close to her chest and her head buried, as if trying to make herself smaller, trying to make herself disappear. She woke confused, not knowing where she was, no familiar face to see. The last thing she knew was sleeping in her mother's guest room, and doesn't seem to remember why or how she got here. This caused panicked to the still disoriented young woman.

"Leonor, look at me, honey. You're safe here, baby." Emily coaxed the younger woman.

Leonor continued to sob, but eventually lifted her head up slowly. Emily's heart shattered at what she saw – eyes red and puffy from crying, tear-stained face, and she could see the pain and fear in her.

"M-Mom?" Leonor sobbed, sounding like a little girl to Emily. "Mommy!" Leonor sobbed even harder as she realized that it was Emily who was in front of her and suddenly launched herself on her, holding on for dear life.

Emily hugged her close and tightly to her, rubbing her back gently. " _Shhh._ I know, I know. It is scary to wake up in a strange place, huh? I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier, honey _. Shhh_. You're okay. Everything's okay. I'm here now."

"I-I… Want… to.. g-go… ho-home." The younger woman stuttered.

"I know, baby. But you're still sick. The nice doctors here will make sure you're all well before we can come home." She explained gently, but Leonor only sobbed harder.

"Hey. _Shhh. Shh. Shh._ You need to calm down a little, honey. C'mon, deep breaths." She coaxed Leonor. The last thing she needed was to throw up all over the hospital bed. "Follow my breathing. Take a deep breath. In… and out. Again, in… and out. There you go. That's it. That's my girl."

Eventually, Leonor's sobs turned into sniffles and hiccups. Emily could see the doctor and a nurse waiting by the door. She knew Leonor needed the IV as she was still getting her meds through it, and she needed to be looked at.

"Lee, honey. The doctor's here to check on you, alright? She's very nice and very kind. Will you let her take a look at you, honey? So we can make sure you're okay?" She asked, as if talking to a little girl. She very gently tried to pry Leonor's arms from her neck, but Leonor shrieked in fear and held on tighter.

"Okay! Okay. It's okay. _Shhh._ " They stayed like that until Emily could feel that Leonor's body was starting to relax and she feared that something else must be going wrong.

"Leonor, the doctor really needs to take a look at you now." She said firmly. This time, finally, Leonor let go of her and Emily was able to lie her back down on the bed, though the younger woman kept a tight hold on her mother's hand. "It's okay. I'm not leaving. I'm staying here with you." She said and gestured for the doctor and the nurse to come in.

Leonor remained as calm as she could be as the doctor checked up on her. She whimpered as the nurse put the IV back on, which turned into cries of agony as the doctor checked her wound and the nurse changed the dressing after. And before she even noticed, the doctor injected something in her arm.

"It's a light sedative. Not enough to put her to sleep, just something to calm her down. I don't want to give her anything stronger than that. It is understandable that she woke up disoriented, but this shall dissipate, even throughout the day. Her fever's still there, at 103.4. We need to monitor it closely. Thankfully, she didn't pull her stitches, though it has swelled a little. Everything's going as well as we could expect, Agent Prentiss." The doctor reassured her.

"Thank you."

Dr. Waltz nodded. "Someone will be here in an hour for the bloodwork. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call me."

Emily turned back to Leonor. "Hey, sweetie. You're getting better, so the doctor says." She smiled.

"I'm sorry, mom." Leonor said tearfully, and Emily that this apology was not meant for her breakdown earlier. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, baby. We don't have to talk about it right now, not until you're ready."

"Here. I brought your blanket." Emily stood up and grabbed the blanket from her overnight bag. She then handed it to Leonor who in turn tucked it close to her.

"Thank you."

"You like that blanket, huh?" Emily smiled.

"Yeah." Leonor said, her eyes heavy with sleep again, despite the light sedative, most probably from exhaustion.

"It's okay. Don't fight it, Lee. You can sleep."

"Don't leave me." She said as her eyes finally closed.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetie. You just sleep, and I'll be right here." She whispered, though she was sure Leonor was already deeply asleep.

An hour later, Emily hesitantly woke up her daughter for the bloodwork. Although Leonor was relatively calmer and less disoriented, she still whimpered as the nurse poked her arm and Emily soothingly wiped the tears from her face.

"It's okay. You're almost done." She whispered. To her, Leonor looked too fragile, like she was suddenly a little girl again who's afraid of hospitals.

Leonor significantly relaxed once it was done and the nurse was out the door. "How are you feeling, honey?" Emily asked, returning to her place by the edge of her bed and holding Leonor's hand comfortingly.

"It was a man." She whispered so quietly that Emily wasn't sure she heard.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?"

"A man. From the shelter." Leonor said, her voice sounded so empty and she was staring into nothing that it almost terrified Emily. Leonor pulled her hand from Emily and started fidgeting with her blanket.

"I've seen him around, has two little kids and his wife with him at the shelter too. I've talked to the wife a few times, she's very nice. One night I woke up and caught him rummaging through my things. I tried to fight him but I just suddenly felt something slicing through my skin, then he was gone. It all happened so fast, I wasn't even sure if it was real or just a dream. But then I felt the pain, so I went to the comfort room to check it. There was too much blood, but I didn't have the money for a ride to the hospital and it was a 45-minute walk. It was just past 3AM. I was too afraid to walk in the dark on my own – always have been since I was _kidnapped._ So I took care of it. I stopped the bleeding and cleaned it as well as I could. Come morning, one of the ladies in charge was kind enough to give me some gauze and plaster. She offered to drive me to the hospital but I refused because I thought I was handling it pretty well, it was just some stupid cut. I mean, the wound dried up after a couple of days. _God I'm so stupid! So stupid!"_ She started crying again.

"Oh sweetie. Come here." Emily pulled her sobbing her daughter into her arms and held her as tight as she could with further hurting her. She suddenly felt this immense need to keep her daughter safe and protected at all times. If she could just keep her indoors at all times she totally would, but that's beyond rational. "You're not stupid, Lee. You did what you thought was practical to survive during that time. It's alright. Everything's okay now."

Emily pulled back once she was sure that Leonor has stopped crying. "Lee, I need you to give me a description of this man, we can a file a police report –"

"No!" She cut off Emily, looking panicked but determined, and frankly, Emily was a little frightened at the sudden change. "No! I don't-"

"Honey, if he has threatened you from speaking –"

"He didn't! He didn't! Stop it, please!" She cried again, placing her hands on both sides of her head.

"Okay. _Shhh. Shhh._ Okay. It's okay." Emily tried to initiate contact, tried to hold her hand but Leonor hastily pulled back.

"Promise me." Leonor gritted through her teeth, trying to stop the sobs from escaping. "Promise me you'll leave him alone. Promise me you'll leave them alone."

Emily sighed. She's utterly confused as to where this is coming from. "Lee, I-"

"The next day after I was attacked." Leonor cut her off. "I was sitting in the common room, trying to study. I saw them in one corner. The man held a piece of bread on a plate with a tiny candle on it in front of his wife. They were singing _Happy Birthday_ to her." Leonor smiled at the memory of one of the purest things she's ever seen, her tears started to fall again, though this time, she determinedly wiped them away.

"Then the wife and the little kids were rummaging through a gift bag filled with clothes. The wife – she looked so happy, _so very happy_ , and content even though, she knew those weren't brand new and god knows where he got them. Their youngest child, a little girl barely even 3, put on a shirt that I recognized as one of mine, and she twirled and giggled in delight as if she was wearing the most beautiful dress in the world. _I will never forget her face._ " Leonor said, again smiling at the memory of the little girl.

Emily didn't even realize she was crying until Leonor turned to look at her again. "You have to promise me. Promise me you'll leave them alone. If he goes to jail, what's going to happen to them? How would they cope with that – being homeless and then losing a father?"

Leonor picked up Emily's hand and looked into her eyes determinedly. "They might never be okay if that ever happens. They might never get back up on their own feet. Yes, he hurt me but I know I'll be okay, because I have you, right? But them, all they've got is each other. Please say you promise. Please!" Leonor cried and begged her mother.

Emily was shocked at the selflessness that her daughter displayed. She has too much love and kindness in her little body than this world will ever deserve. She pulled Leonor back into her arms and rocked her gently side by side, trying to soothe her crying daughter. "Yes, you've got me." She whispered to her. "Everything will be okay, I promise you that." She sighed. "And I promise that I will leave that man and his family alone. I promise, Lee. _I promise._ "

If Emily could promise her the world, she would. But she never makes promises she can't keep.


	8. Chapter 8

Garcia was marching the hallway from her office into the bullpen and into her boss' office. The clicking of her heels indicating that she was practically sprinting to her destination.

"Sir." Garcia called as she approach the opened door of Hotch's office.

"Come in, Garcia." He said absentmindedly, quickly signing on a case file. "What is it?" He asked, finally looking at her.

"Is Emily okay?"

"What do you mean?" Giving her his trademark Aaron Hotchner stoic look.

"Well, she hasn't been in for more than a week now."

"I told you she's taking some personal time." He also reminded them not to contact her yet, as per Emily's request.

"Yes. I get that but I, and this is with good intentions, tracked her phone down and it pinged in a hospital."

"Garcia-"

"Sir, why is Emily in the hospital? Is she okay? Is she sick? Is she hurt? Why didn't she tell us? We could've taken care of her. We-"

"She's not sick." Hotch finally said.

"What?"

"Garcia, Emily's okay. She's not sick."

"Oh. Then why is she-"

"Garcia, I know you mean well. But you know that I won't betray her confidence. When she's ready, she'll tell you what's going on, you know that. But I can tell you, she's very much okay and will be back with us soon."

Garcia sighed. "Okay." She nodded. "I'm not convinced, but okay. Thank you, sir."

It was a slow day, and by the end of it, Hotch was ready to crawl out of his office, oddly enough. It was almost 5PM and he knew that the rest of the team are itching to get out of there as well. Hotch usually stays until around 8PM, but maybe today, he thought, he could make an exception. Quickly packing some case files on his briefcase and grabbing his coat, he headed out before anyone else.

As he walked through the bullpen, JJ, Reid, and Morgan just stared. He stopped to get some take-out Mexican food before finally driving to his real destination.

He went inside the room as soon as he hear her say "Come in."

"Hey." He greeted quietly, seeing that Leonor was asleep.

Emily couldn't help but smile at the wonderful surprise. "Hi." She stood up and hugged him tight. "Missed you."

Hotch gladly hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "Missed you too." It wasn't an exaggeration. They hadn't seen each other since their date.

"How's she doing?" He asked, nodding to Leonor, as he put the take-out bags down.

"She's… getting there." She replied sadly. It has not been a walk in the park for the mother and daughter duo. Everything seemed to be going well at first and the doctor was even positive that Leonor can go home by the end of the week. However, Leonor incurred a severe respiratory infection and it has been a huge setback for them both. Her fever came back and the persistent coughing kept her restless.

"She's in distress, I can tell she's exhausted. She keeps telling me she wants to go home, but the doctor said that we should wait until her lungs clear up. She says she feel like there is a heavy weight on her chest and she's been uncomfortable. I just... I don't know how to help her." Emily cried.

"Hey. Come here." Hotch pulled her into his arms and spreading kisses at the top of her head. "You are helping her, Em. But there's only so much you can do. Trust me, the fact that you're here is comfort enough for her."

Emily nodded, trying to believe every word he said.

"And how are you?" Hotch asked.

"I'm okay." She looked up at him and gave him a slight smile. "I miss my bed though."

"Of course you do." He chuckled. He led them to the couch they sat down and Emily immediately curled up against Hotch. She definitely missed this – the warmth of his body, his scent, his strong arms that makes her feel safe.

"So, don't hate her, but Garcia tried to track you down and of course she located you at a hospital." He started, and Emily shot her head up to look at him in surprised, and maybe fear. "She came up to me, worried that you might have been sick or hurt, but I assured her that you're okay. Honestly, they're all worried and would ask me from time to time if you're okay."

"Thank you." Emily sighed, placing her head back on his chest.

"Em."

"Hmmm?"

"I know it's none of my business but when do you plan on telling them?"

Emily sighed again. "My lawyer have already started the process of integrating Leonor legally in my life and I should hear from him this week. Once it becomes official, I will update my file at work and then I'll tell them."

"And your mother?"

"What about my mother." Her tone became a little snappy.

"She will eventually find out."

"To hell with my mother! She didn't care about us then, and she shouldn't care now. If she's after the money, then she can go suck it. It's my money and it's Leonor's money. And she can go on pretending that Leonor's dead because I will never ever let her near my daughter."

"I'm sorry." Hotch whispered.

"No. I'm sorry." Emily sighed.

Before their conversation could go on, Leonor suffered another coughing fit that keeps her and Emily restless. Emily immediately got up from the couch to help Leonor. She sat her up, rubbed her back, and tried to keep her calm. Hotch actually had to wince at the rough sound.

"It's okay. You're okay." Emily comforted her daughter, who was now sat up on bed and struggling to breathe. "There you go. You can breathe, baby. C'mon. _Shhh._ "

Leonor whimpered as her lungs finally stopped its spasms, and finally able to take deep breaths.

"There. All done now, huh? We'll just sit up for a while."

Hating to feel helpless, Hotch got up and poured water into Leonor's glass then placing a straw before offering it to her. "Here you go." He said quietly.

Leonor gladly accepted the drink. The water felt like heaven as it pass through her sore throat. "Thank you."

"They brought your dinner in, honey. You should eat some." Emily wheeled the bed tray over Leonor.

The younger woman's face scrunched up as she saw what was served to her. Mashed potatoes with rather pale gravy, roasted chicken that looked too dry, and some broccoli. Only the apple slices looked somewhat appetizing to her. Normally, Leonor was tolerant of what was given to her. She would manage to eat at least half of it just to please her mother. But she was having none of it right now.

Leonor pushed the tray away and shook her head. Emily couldn't blame her though. She herself wouldn't even manage to eat that even if it's the only meal on earth.

"It's okay." Emily said softly.

"I uh, I brought you some mac and cheese from that Mexican diner Emily likes. Would you like to try?" Hotch offered with a smile. Without waiting for Leonor for an answer, he took out the container of mac and cheese, opened it and placed it on Leonor's tray.

The younger woman actually smiled at the sight of finally something not _hospital-made._ "Thank you." She said with a smile before she started eating.

"Thank you, Aaron." Emily said.

He nodded at her. "You should eat too." He said, taking out another container from the bag. "Here. I brought you favorite chicken taco salad, but you should eat something more filling so I got those soft tacos that you like."

"Aaron-"

"Em, just eat." He said teasingly.

They all ate silently, including Aaron who had brought his favorite hard shell tacos, while the three of them shared the salad. To Emily's surprise, Leonor was able to finish her food, including the salad and the apple slices. It delighted her to see that Leonor was finally starting to get her appetite back. _Maybe it was just the bad hospital food._

After dinner, they all entertained themselves with UNO cards, something that's not strenuous for Leonor, but also something that could cause strain in relationships, so they say.

"That's it! I'm done playing!" Emily exclaimed after the 6th round, and her 5th time to lose.

"C'mon, Em." Hotch teased.

"You don't shuffle cards well, that's why I'm losing." She stated.

"How is that my fault? We alternately shuffle them, Em." Hotch said, laughing at the apparent competitiveness of the brunette. The same moment, his phone alerted him of a message. He sighed as he saw that it was from JJ, telling him they had case.

"Go." Emily said softly. She knew that look.

Hotch gave her a tight smile and nodded. For once in his life, he didn't want to leave for work, but he had to.

"Thank you for the food, Agent Hotchner." Leonor softly said before Hotch could get to the door.

Hotch smiled at her. "I thought I remembered telling you to call me Aaron." He teased. "But you're welcome, and I hope you get better soon." He said, ruffling her hair lightly before heading out the door with Emily.

"Thank you… for lifting her spirits up today." Emily said quietly once they were out the door. "And mine too." She whispered.

"I don't think I did that much, but you're welcome." He smiled.

Emily pulled him into a tight hug and reveled at the feel of him. "I know you have to leave but I just…"

Hotch hugged her back just as much and kissed the top of her head. "It's alright. I can make time." They stayed like that for about a minute before Emily reluctantly pulled back. But before she could completely pull herself back, Hotch tightened his hold on her and kissed her. Emily gladly kissed him back, missing the feel of his lips on hers. _God, he's an amazing kisser._

Leonor could see the _I just got amazingly kissed_ goofy grin on her mother's face when she came back in and couldn't help but giggle.

"What?" Emily asked as she sat beside Leonor on her bed. "What are you giggling about, silly girl?"

"You got kissed." She chuckled.

"And how could you possibly know that?" She asked, but still couldn't help the smile on her face.

"You have that look. That I-just-got-kissed-and-it-was-amazing look, you know, with that goofy grin and all."

Emily chuckled. So what if she did have that goofy grin? That kiss was amazing!

"So what do you think of him?" Emily asked her daughter softly. "I mean, we've only been on one date so far but I've known him for a long time and he's become my best friend so…"

"So… I think he's good for you – you're good for each other. Mom, do you not see the way he looks at you? It's like –it's like you're his world, mom. I don't know about you, but I think you'd be pretty crazy if you ever let him go." She smiled at her mother.

"And mom?" Leonor added.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to be happy, you know that? And I don't want you to be alone."

"I'll never be alone as long as I have you." Emily smiled at her daughter.

Leonor shook her head. "But I won't be always be here. For all we know, time could be running out." She blurted, not really thinking about what she was saying.

Emily's brow knotted in confusion. "What do you mean?" _Okay, that made me slightly uncomfortable,_ Emily thought.

But Leonor easily dodged the question. "I know you're very much capable of taking care of yourself, but there will be times when you won't be able to do that and need help. You need someone who will care for you, devotes his time for you, and who will love you for who you are, and I think Aaron could be that someone for you." Leonor looked up at her mother to see tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Oh Lee." Emily didn't have any words, so she hugged her daughter.

"I love you, mom." Leonor said quietly, her voice muffled as she buried her face in Emily's shoulder.

The tears finally fell from eyes, but they were tears of joy. She never thought those three words could have this powerful effect on her, not until her daughter said it to her.

She hugged Leonor tighter and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, sweetie."

/

Finally, after a two-week hospital stay, Leonor was finally cleared to go home. Aside from the coughing, which the doctor said would clear up pretty soon, she was feeling so much better – like good as new. After finally settling back into Emily's guest room, everything finally sunk in – yes, she's better, but this is still all a mess. She missed too much school days and will most likely lose her scholarship, she lost her job, she missed important job interviews, her mother missed a lot of work days because of her, and she's also probably racked up on the hospital bills.

Leonor audibly groaned and buried her head further into the pillow. _This is all a mess! How am I gonna get back up?_ Before she knew, she's crying out of frustration. It was days like these that Leonor wished she could've died all those years ago.

A knock on the door broke her out of her trance. "Lee? Can I come in?" She heard her mother's voice on the other side of the door.

"Yeah." Leonor answered, quickly sitting up and wiping her tears away.

"Hey." Emily smiled as she came into the room. "We missed lunch so I made some sandwiches and tea." Her smile was turned into a worried frown when she the upset young woman. "What's wrong, hon?" She asked, sitting on the bed facing Leonor.

Leonor gave out an exasperated sigh and buried her face in her hands. "It's all a mess! I don't know where to go from here. I missed a lot of school days, it's quite impossible to catch up now. I have no job. I missed a few job interviews, you missed a lot of work days because of me, and you're probably buried with my hospital bills. I'm sorry, mom!"

"Hey, hey, hey. None of that, sweetie. Come here." Emily pulled her almost hysterical daughter into her arms and just let her cry.

"I missed a lot of school days, mom." Leonor said. "It's impossible to catch up now. I'm going to lose the scholarship."

Emily pulled back to look at her daughter. "Lee, look at me honey." She gave a determined smile once she caught Leonor's eyes. "I have proposition for you, if you wanna hear it?" Leonor nodded.

"So, you have a four-year scholarship, right? And this is supposedly your last year in law school. Any excess from this school will not be covered anymore, is that correct?" Leonor nodded at her.

"Alright. So I was thinking, you take the rest of this semester off, submit an LOA letter. Then, you come back next semester. Next school year, you finish whatever you have left behind and whatever classes you need to graduate, and I will take care of it financially."

Leonor shook her head. "N-no. I can't impose like that. It's expensive, mom. It's too expensive. I can't let you do that. I can't."

"Lee, listen to me. First of all, you're not imposing, I'm offering. Second, you need time to recover, sweetie. You're going to make yourself sick again. You can use this time to find a job if you want to. But please, Lee, take a breather."

"But, mom, it's too much money." She mumbled.

"You don't have to think about the money, okay? That's my job." She pulled Leonor in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. "You don't have to decide right now, but please think about it, okay?"

"Okay." Leonor nodded and then looked up to her mother. "Can we have those sandwiches now?" She ask shyly, to which Emily had to chuckle in response.

"Yes, sweet girl. C'mon."

/

Emily sighed as she closed the door behind her. She smiled at the smell of dinner. "I smell something good." She said as she walked to the kitchen and seeing her daughter cooking. She abruptly stopped as she saw several other dishes on the table, including her favorite wine.

"What are we celebrating?" She grinned.

Leonor finished plating the salad and placed it on the table before turning to her mother.

She took a deep breath and shyly said, "I got the job." The next thing she knew, there was a squeal of delight and she was engulfed in a tight hug and being twirled around.

"Mom!" Leonor chuckled.

"Congratulations, Lee!" Emily as she put her down. "I'm so proud of you."

At that statement, Leonor's face seemed to lightened up some more. "Thanks, mom."

Leonor felt like the weight on her shoulders were gradually lessening. Just getting accepted to this job was relief enough. She applied as a paralegal in a huge international firm, and she was just partially below their requirements since she didn't have any previous experience and wasn't even expecting to get a call back from them. But eventually, they were impressed and gave her the position. To say that she was ecstatic is an understatement – this job is amazing for her, experience-wise and salary-wise. She even thinks she can pay most of her tuition by the time she gets back to school.

Dinner was a happy affair for the two women. Their dinner of steak, roasted veggies, and salad, left Emily highly impressed. She's never learned how to cook decent meals like these and so she's always wondered how people do it.

/

"Hey." Emily greeted Hotch who was engrossed on paperwork in his office.

"Hey."

"So, uhm, it's final." She said shyly.

Hotch looked up and smiled at her. "That fast?"

"Well, you know… I may have pulled some strings." She shrugged.

"So, I suppose you're here to update your file?"

"Yeah, about that, I was actually thinking sometime after Thanksgiving?"

"That's your choice to make, Emily."

"Yeah, I know. I just – I know if I do it now, Garcia might find out and I kinda want everyone to know at the same time."

"Which is why you're bringing her with you for Thanksgiving dinner at Rossi's." Hotch concluded for her.

"Yup."

"Good for you." He smiled.

"Thanks, Hotch. Still up for dinner tonight?" She grinned.

"Absolutely." With that, Emily left his office with an unknowing huge smile on her face.

/

"You know, you didn't have to reserve a _plus one_ if you're going with Hotch, right?" David Rossi smirked as he sat on her desk.

"Hello to you too, Dave." Emily replied without looking up from her paperwork.

"You have a _plus one_?" Reid asked, rolling his chair over to her place.

"Oh do tell!" JJ said as she did the same thing.

Emily gave out an exasperated sigh and looked up the suddenly interested group around her. "Yes, I do have a _plus one_ that you shall meet tomorrow at dinner. So if you could wait until then, that would be great."

"Alright, Ms. Grumpy Pants, but just don't think you're off the hook." Dave said as he walked to his office, while JJ and Reid went back to their desks.

"We'll see about that."

/

A knock came on her bedroom as Emily was putting finishing touches on her look. "Yeah?"

"Hey, mom?" Leonor called quietly as she stood by the door. "Do I look alright?"

Emily turned and smiled at her daughter. "You look beautiful, Lee." She motioned for her to come and stand beside by the dresser.

"See?" She nodded to their reflection in the mirror. "Absolutely beautiful. That dress fits perfectly." They had a couple of weekends shopping and trying to fill up Leonor's wardrobe. While the younger woman insisted on buying work clothes and a few casual clothes, Emily insisted on buying her a few designer dresses as well. It was Emily's secret indulgence for herself, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Shoes were also the subject of their playful argument. Emily insisted on introducing Leonor to Manolo Blahnik, saying it was women's real best friend, and by _introducing_ , it meant Emily insisted on buying her daughter several pairs for all occasions.

"And there are also beautiful dresses like this for half the price" Leonor snickered.

Emily rolled her eyes playfully at her daughter. "But they're not the same, alright? Someday you'll understand."

"Are you sure about this, mom?" Leonor asked hesitantly.

"To tell you honestly, I'm scared. They don't know the whole story. I've been very secretive of my past and other than the fact that I was a diplomatic brat who grew up hating her mother, they don't know anything else but I'm ready. They're the only family I've known. I trust them with my life and I know I can trust them with yours too, just in case. But you do want this right? Tell me the truth."

Leonor nodded, understand what her mother was saying. "I do, mom, and not only because you want this too. I can see that they're important to you and so I really want to meet this unconventional family of yours. So I'm ready."

"Thank you. C'mon. Garcia gets antsy when one of us is late." Emily chuckled.

/

"Wow." Leonor exclaimed with a child-like wonder as they drive through the entrance of Rossi's house. "You said it was a house. This is practically a mansion, mom!"

"That's what he usually says, but you know, he's just being cocky." Emily smirked.

They walked up to the door and stood awkwardly as they wait for someone to open it. To Emily's relief, it was Hotch who opened the door.

"Please tell me they're not drunk this early."

Hotch had to laugh. Granted Garcia may now be a little bit tipsy, she's still fine and so is the rest of them. "Hello to you too." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek. "They're fine, don't worry."

"Good."

"Hello, Leonor." Hotch said, giving the young woman a quick hug.

"Hey, Aaron. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving. C'mon, the table's all set in the garden."

Leonor was in awe of how beautiful the house looked inside. She's never been in a house this big before. It was like a Christmas wonderland.

"Hey guys! Look who's here!" Hotch announce as the three of them entered the garden. It was elegantly set, and she didn't expect less from David Rossi – he's definitely the host with the most. Nice pleasantries were exchanged and then it was time for Emily to do the introduction.

She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "If you all remember, a few months ago, we caught a case involving that unsub whose family was killed by robbers. He released his last victim on the highway and Hotch and I met her in the hospital. I'm pretty sure you all remember her – well, probably just Reid- but, everyone, I would like you to meet _again_ Leonor Villa, my daughter." She looked at Leonor with a smile and squeezed her hand comfortingly.

But the silence was of the group was quite unexpected for Emily. "I know you have a lot of questions, and I promise you I will answer all of them but let me at least give you a gist of what or how it happened. When I was 15 my mother was posted in Italy. I was a rebellious teen, you all know that. Anyway, I got pregnant then and I begged my mother to let me keep the baby. In return, she locked me up in the attic while she told everyone that I was back in the States. When I gave birth, I was told that my baby died a few hours after. But in my heart I knew it wasn't true. Now, 21 years later, we crossed paths, and I guess that's just how fate works."

Again, silence. But that was until one Penelope Garcia slowly walked towards them. "Oh. My. Goodness." She stood in front of Leonor and just stared at her for a few moments.

Leonor felt so awkward and uncomfortable that she forced herself to say something. "Hello, Ms. Garcia." She said quietly, giving a quick smile. "I believe we've met before but- Oh!" She was stopped when Garcia pulled her in a tight quick.

"I have been dreaming of this moment for a long time! Oh my gosh! It's finally happened."

"Garcia." Emily called, but she was ignored.

Garcia pulled back but kept hold of Leonor's arms. "A mini Emily! We finally have a mini Emily. Oh look at you! You are as gorgeous as your mother. Please allow me to say this, welcome! Welcome to this unconventional but one in a million kind of family. Here you will be loved, cared, protected, and sometimes annoyed."

Finally breaking the ice, the rest of team greeted Leonor with a hug and their welcome greetings. Leonor was suddenly overwhelmed by the attention.

"Alright. Let's not suffocate the poor young woman. Dinner's served, everybody!" Dave announced.

Thanksgiving dinner with this team is always a festive one. Emily liked it better than the one her mother forces her to attend before she entered the BAU and met this crazy bunch of people she calls her family. With her mother, it's always been forced, sad, and her mother would always invite people, most are old men who would ogle on her all night. She would feel very dirty afterwards. But here with the BAU, she finally felt what real family love is. Here it was always fun, light, easy, and filled with love. She felt more at ease when she saw how they interact with their daughter. There was a sense of acceptance from them and that settled her heart a little more.

"Good night, huh?"

Emily turned her head to see Hotch standing beside her, his own champagne glass in hand. "Yeah. Amazing night." They stood there watching their family laugh and have fun.

Suddenly, Hotch grabbed her hand and said, "I'm thankful I met you, and I'm thankful that you give the chance to try and make you happy. I'm thankful for you, Emily." He gave out that smile that made Emily's knees go weak.

Without thinking, Emily leaned up and give him a soft kiss, nothing seductive about it, but it was full of emotions. "And I'm thankful for you. You make me happy, Aaron – so happy and so safe and so loved." She leaned up to kiss him again, this one lasting a little longer. Long enough for the rest of the team to notice.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, standing in silence with goofy grins on their faces, until Morgan finally broke it out.

"Alright, you two! This is a huge house, at least get one of the rooms!" He teased, making the lovers jump and pull away from each other.

Emily was so embarrassed that she had buried her face in Hotch's chest, while he chuckled at her profuse blushing and put a protective arm around her. Yeah, it was a great thanksgiving.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey mom?" Leonor called quietly. Emily was making dinner while Leonor sat on the counter with her laptop trying to finish something for work. She was finding it difficult to do so only because she's been so distracted.

"Yeah?" Emily asked back. She was sensing some hesitation on her daughter's tone.

"So tomorrow night…" Leonor started, her voice still soft and quiet. "I'm going out… for dinner… with someone."

Emily finally turned to her daughter. "You mean a date?"

"I-I guess so?" She shrugged.

"Lee?" Emily finally decided to push her.

Leonor sighed dramatically. "I've never been on a date, mom." She admitted shyly. "My whole life –it has always been focused on academics, doing this, doing that! There was – there just wasn't any time." She ranted.

"And no one's judging you if you've never been on your first date, Lee. No one has to know."

"But I don't know what to do. What if I make a fool of myself?"

"You won't. Is it nerve-wracking? Yes. Is it scary? Absolutely. But you will be fine. You just have to be yourself, you don't have to hide who you are, because if this person is serious about you, they'll accept you for who you are. And come on, everyone's nervous on their first date."

Leonor bit her lip in contemplation. Her mother was right, but it was still easier said than done. She sighed, "I guess so."

"So, do I get a name?" Emily grinned.

"Alex." Was her short reply. She knew if she gave away too much, her mother would most probably do a background check.

"Alex?..." Emily prodded, raising her eyebrows.

"Alex from work." Leonor smirked. "That's all you're getting, at least for now."

"Alright. Fair enough. So, what does Alex _from work_ do at work?"

"A lawyer."

"Ooh. Dating the boss. My little fearless tiger." Emily teased.

"Hey! Look who's talking." Leonor clapped back.

Emily opened her mouth then closed it again. She'd give her that. "Good point."

Leonor was uncomfortably quiet during dinner and Emily could tell something else was bothering her. But the thing about Leonor is that you do not push her to talk, because she will talk at her own time, when she feels ready. _That's totally like me and it's hella scary,_ Emily thought. So Emily didn't push it and started a conversation about another topic, and finally, the uncomfortable silence was gone.

Later that night, Leonor turned in early, saying that she was really exhausted from some reason. Emily, however, stayed on the couch, nursing a glass of wine, while watching some crappy Christmas TV movie. She couldn't sleep from some reason and was hoping the wine would help settle her.

A while later, Emily found Leonor sitting beside her on the couch. "Hey. Couldn't sleep?" Leonor only shook her head in reply.

"What is it, Lee?" She asked softly.

The younger woman took a deep breath and turned to face her mother. "Mom… Alex from work is a woman." The moment she said it, it felt like her heart stopped. She's been contemplating on whether to tell Emily or not, but this was important to her and she couldn't let it go. She couldn't just keep it a secret, especially from her mother. _Her mother._ It took everything in her to look up and see her mother's reaction.

Emily's face softened at the apparent fear in her daughter's eyes. It was like she was waiting for Emily to shout, get angry, and throw her out. Instead, Leonor was surprised when her mother pulled her in a tight hug.

Emily kissed the top of her head. "No matter who you love, no matter who you are, I'll always love you. Thank you for sharing and being open with me. I'm so proud of you, honey." She said, her voice cracking with so much emotion. She knew it took a lot of courage for anyone to come out, fearing the rejection and hatred that some people throw at them. She feels honored and proud to have a daughter Leonor.

"I love you, mom." Leonor whispered.

"I love you too- so much."

/

Leonor grunted in annoyance as she sat back down on her bed. Her closet was open and she has been staring at it for too long she was sure it was already staring back at her. She needed to leave in 30 freaking minutes but couldn't decide what to wear. She wanted to look good for Alex.

 _Alex._ The woman who has captivated her since she step foot in that office. At first she was scared of her. Alex commands attention as she walks into a room, just clicking of her heels were enough to scare some of the staff, but not her. Alex is fierce – she exudes confidence, leadership and passion in her work. People at work warned her about the _Ice Queen_ , but Leonor was all the more enamored. She knew that there was more than her cold façade and Leonor wanted to be the one to know that. She has never felt this way for anyone, and the more time she spent with Alex, the more she falls for her. But she brushed that away, knowing that someone like Alex would never fall for someone like her. And so she was so truly surprised when one night, while working overtime, Alex asked her out.

A sudden knock on her door snapped her out of her trance.

"Lee, everything going alright?" She heard her mother ask.

Leonor sighed and stood up to open the door. "I don't know what to wear." She immediately said as she saw her mother.

Emily grinned and pushed her way in to the bedroom. "What's the dress code?" She asked as she stood in front her daughter's closet.

"She said just casual because it's cold out." Leonor said. Emily nodded. It made sense. Going out in a dressy outfit in this cold will only make them miserable. _That's one point for you, Alex,_ Emily thought.

"Alright." Emily pulled a black denim pants and a pale pink cashmere sweater. She then pulled out a red coat – one of her favorite purchase for her daughter. "Here you go. Get dressed please, and hurry up. It's never polite to be late – especially on a first date." She smirked at her daughter. "And please wear some gloves and a scarf for god's sakes! The pale pink ones we got." She called out before she walked out the door. She knew Leonor hates the cold weather because she gets cold so easily and she will not have her precious daughter freezing out in the cold.

A few minutes later, Leonor finally came out the door wearing the outfit Emily picked out for her and a black sling bag that she picked out. She was more of a small bag type of woman, especially on outings like this. She doesn't like carrying tote bags or huge purses, except for work or for school.

"Oh look at you" Emily gushed. She held her daughter at arms' length, tears clouding her vision.

Leonor's brows knitted in confusion. "Mom, why are you crying?"

Emily shook her head and laughed. "I don't know. I'm just emotional. I've never seen you on your first dance, or prom, or homecoming, so let's just pretend this is one of those, okay?"

"Okay. Except I don't get a corsage." She joked.

"That's alright. I never liked corsages anyway." Emily laughed and Leonor laughed with her. The beeping of Leonor's cellphone alerted her that Alex was already downstairs, waiting in the lobby.

"She's waiting downstairs."

"Alright, off you go. Remember, just be yourself and you'll be fine. If it gets bad or you want out, just go to the restroom and call me, okay? I'll be ready to pick you up no matter what time, no matter where you are."

Leonor rolled her eyes playfully. "Mom, she's not some freaky chick I met on a dating site."

"Hey, I'm just being the mom that I am. Anyway, go! Before she starts thinking you changed your mind."

"Okay. Bye mom."

"Bye. Love you."

"Love you too!" She called out as she closed the door.

/

Leonor took a deep breath as she stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, her eyes scanning the area. A smile tugged on her lips as she spotted the blonde standing by the window.

"Alex?" Leonor called softly as she approached her date.

Alex turned around and the moment she did, she felt like her heart stopped. Leonor was wearing a simple ensemble, but to Alex she was breathtaking.

"Hey you." Alex greeted softly. "You look beautiful."

Leonor couldn't hide her blush. "Thank you. You look beautiful too."

"Thanks." She smiled. "So, you ready to go?" She asked, offering her hand which Leonor gladly held on to.

"Yeah."

Alex kept stealing glances to Leonor as she drove. She could tell she was nervous, and so she reached to hold her hand. "Hey. You okay? You seem nervous."

Leonor sighed. "I kind of am."

Finally Alex parked the car outside a restaurant. She turned to look at Leonor. "Hey." She call softly. "You have nothing to be nervous about. We don't have to do anything you don't want to. We'll just have a nice dinner, have a nice time and get to know each other. I really like you, Leonor, and I hope to get to know you more." _There. She took her shot. It was Leonor's turn._

"I know. I just… I haven't been on a date ever. And I really don't want to mess up because I really _really_ want this, and I really _really_ like you too."

They head into the restaurant which serves a fusion of Moroccan and Indian cuisine. The setting was really nice, it wasn't too formal but not too casual either, which is just perfect for both of them.

"I've never known this place. How'd you find it?" Leonor asked. "The food is amazing too."

"I'm glad you like it. This is one my favorites. A friend brought me here last year and since then, I've been coming here. They're open until 1AM and they deliver so it suits my lifestyle really well – you know, the I-can't-cook-for-the-life-of-me lifestyle." She shrugged playfully.

"Well, thank you for bringing me here. I appreciate getting a glimpse of your lifestyle, as you would say." She winked at her.

Alex chuckled. "Guess it was not something you were expecting, huh?"

Leonor shook her head. "Oh no. Not at all. I was expecting something like a chauffeur-driven limo, then a house with a butler, maybe 13 house maids, and a chef. A personal assistant, personal shopper and personal _something else."_ She teased.

Alex gave a short laugh but her mood became somber immediately. Leonor noticed it and immediately felt bad.

"Hey." She reached out to hold Alex's hand. "I'm sorry, Alex. I was just kidding. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, really. It's just that – people talk and so I'm pretty sure you've probably heard a lot of stories and my nickname."

"You are not an _Ice Queen._ Those people, they only talk because they don't know you – the real you."

"And you do?" Alex countered, and regretted it instantly. "Sorry."

"Don't be." She smiled gently and squeezed her hand. "I don't know you yet – at least not entirely, but from what I can see so far, you're one of the kindest, brightest, smartest, and most passionate persons I've ever met. And the rest of you – I would really like to know."

Alex's eyes were clouded with tears. "Thank you. I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about you." She grinned.

"Well, I'm from Italy. I'm here on a scholarship for law school, but you know, I needed the job."

"And you're staying in campus?"

"No. No. I – uhm- I'm staying with my mother." She said shyly, her head hanging low.

"Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about that." Alex reassured her. "Tell me about her." She encouraged Leonor to talk more, and she noticed the twinkle in her eyes when she about her mother.

"She's – she's amazing. She's an FBI Agent, Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah. She's majorly intelligent, kind, funny, and just… amazing. But, we've only just met – a few months ago."

"What do you mean?"

"She had me when she was really young, and her mother, being an ambassador, thought it was bad for her image, so I was adopted. I grew up in Italy with my Italian parents. Before my adoptive mother passed away, she told me all about my biological mother. Once I was offered a scholarship at GWU, I knew it was my chance to get here and hopefully find her as well. It wasn't easy, but I did."

Alex could sense that there more to that story, but it was for another time. "You amaze me, you know?"

Leonor gave shy smile. "You're pretty amazing yourself."

After dinner, they decided for a walk in the park. It as illuminated with street lights and there were still quite a number of people so they deemed it safe. They walked around, holding each other close, feeling content and happy.

Before they knew it, they were standing in front of Leonor's apartment building.

"So…" Leonor said, standing awkwardly facing Alex as she wasn't sure what she's supposed to do.

"So…" Alex teased.

Leonor chuckled and rolled her eyes playful. "I had an amazing time, Ms. Cabot."

It was Alex's turn to roll her eyes at her. Leonor knew Alex hated being called Ms. Cabot outside of work.

"I would like to do it again." Leonor grinned.

Alex smiled and stepped impossibly closer to the shorter woman. "Good, because I would like to do it again too."

Leonor grinned shyly at her and asked, "Kiss me?"

Alex smiled, "Gladly."

/

 _Got called out on a case. Pls let me know if you got home safe, otherwise I'll send out a search party for you. Enjoy your night. Be safe. Love, mom._ Emily pressed sent and sighed as she sat at the round table.

JJ looked at her and asked "everything okay?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know."

"What's up?" She quieted her voice, knowing that Emily would not appreciate if someone walked in and heard her ask that question.

"It's stupid, really. Leonor went on a date tonight. Her first date."

"Awww, and Mommy Emily is nervous, isn't she?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. But I already missed a lot of milestones in her life, and I feel like I'm missing another." She said quietly and JJ noticed the sad tone in her voice.

"But you didn't miss it. I bet you chose her outfit." She smirked.

"Yeah." Emily chuckled. "But only because she couldn't pick one."

"Emily, from what I've observed in a short time, Leonor is a lot like you, despite being apart. Like there is no doubt she's Emily Prentiss' daughter. By that logic, I know that she's capable of so much love just like you. She wouldn't hate you for this one, Em. And I bet by the time we get back, she's itching to tell you all about it." She squeezed Emily's hand.

"Thanks, Jayje."

/

Leonor sighed as she got on her bed, a wide grin still plastered on her face. She grabbed her that she realized she has not checked since she went out of the apartment. She read Emily's message and somehow felt bad that it took hours for her to message her mother back. The apartment was empty when she came so figured her mother was called out for work.

 _Got home just a few minutes ago. Had an amazing time. Call when you can. Be safe xx_

She put her phone down on the bedside table and turned off the lamp. She laid on her back, staring on the ceiling, still thinking about the amazing time she had.

She jumped a little as her phone beeped again, this time she gave out the biggest smile when she saw that the message was from Alex.

 _Hey you. Still awake?_ The message read, but instead of messaging back, Leonor took a deep breath and pressed the call button.

"Hi darling. Can't sleep either, huh?" Alex's smooth voice greeted on the either.

"Yeah. You see, there's this blonde that I just can't stop thinking about."

"Hmm. I guess that blonde is the luckiest person then."

Leonor chuckled. "Yeah. I guess so too."

They continued to talk and ask about one another. About an hour later, Leonor didn't receive any more response and she could hear Alex's soft snores on the other line.

She felt a warmth fluttering in her chest. She's never felt so strongly about anyone before. Alexandra Cabot is an enigma, that's for sure, but she enjoys discovering her.

"Sweet dreams, Alex."


	10. Chapter 10

"So, any fun Christmas plans?" Emily asked as she took a bite of her steak. Emily loved a good steak and Hotch knew this all too well. Of course he did. So for tonight's after-work date, they agreed on one of the most expensive restaurants in DC, which also happens to serve the best steak in town. Everybody wins.

"I am taking him to see Santa this Sunday, but it's Haley's year so, I guess I'll just sleep it off."

Emily scoffed. "Since when do you sleep?" She teased.

"Since I don't have anything _fun_ to do at Christmas?" He smiled.

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Spend Christmas with me – with us." She said softly.

Hotch squeezed her hand back and smiled sadly. "I appreciate the sentiment, sweetheart. I really do. But it's your first Christmas with Leonor. You should both be able to enjoy that."

"We will, and we still can enjoy with you there." She said firmly. "Please, Aaron?" She gave him those puppy eyes and that little pout she was sure he couldn't resist.

"Alright." Hotch sighed. "And you're not playing fair."

"Yeah well…" She shrugged and gave him a cheeky grin.

/

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Emily brightly greeted her sleep-rumpled daughter as she walked into the kitchen. Leonor groaned as she sat on the tall chair by the counter.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Emily teased, placing a mug of coffee in front of her daughter.

"It's too cold." Leonor mumbled.

"Well, I think it's finally going to start snowing."

Leonor grunted. "I hate the cold."

"Too bad, because we're going Christmas Tree shopping."

Emily laughed at Leonor's whine. Her daughter really hated mornings and cold weather. So those two combined make a whiny, grumpy Leonor, but she'll take it.

"Drink your coffee, honey. It'll make you feel better." She said before getting back to cooking their breakfast.

"So, do you have any Christmas traditions?" Emily asked as they eat breakfast.

Leonor's mood became a little somber. Even though they were struggling, her adoptive mother had tried her best to make Christmas a little more festive than just a normal day for little Leonor. Of course, that is before her father comes home drunk at night and starts beating them for _wasting money_.

"No." She said quietly.

Emily reached for her hand squeezed it, prompting the younger woman to look at her. "How about we start some now, huh?" She smiled.

Leonor smiled back at her and nodded. "I call dibs on Christmas breakfast and pastries."

"Deal."

/

"So, how exactly are we going to take a tree home?" Leonor asked as they walked through the property with tons and tons of Christmas trees, trying to find the perfect one for their simple home.

"I have no idea."

"Haven't you done this before?"

"Nope. I have a fake tree which is about 3ft tall."

"Why didn't you just put that one up? Why'd you have to get a real one?"

"Because you're here." Emily said matter-of-factly.

Emily was surprised when she was enveloped by her daughter's arm in a tight hug. "Thanks, mom." Leonor murmured and Emily could hear the sincerity in her words.

She placed a kiss on the top of her head. "New traditions, right?"

"Right."

If she's being honest, Christmas tree shopping was an amazing for Leonor. She thought it was going to be horrible because she hated the cold, but it wasn't. It was fun, and definitely an eye-opener as to how _perfectionist_ her mother is when it comes to aesthetics. But it was the horrible kind of perfectionist – she was rather the funny kind.

After finding the perfect tree and making arrangements to have it delivered tomorrow, the mother-daughter duo headed to the mall for lunch and do some shopping. Emily needed to get gifts for her team and they needed more decorations for their new tree, and Leonor, well, she's just along for the ride – and maybe find the perfect gift for Alex.

"Have you got a gift for Alex, yet?" Emily asked as they walked through a store.

Leonor blushed. "No, not yet. How do you even find a gift for someone who seemed to already have everything?"

"Well, she doesn't have something from you yet. So, technically, she doesn't have everything." Emily argued.

Leonor snorted. "Right, smarty pants."

Emily loved the playful banter, and she thanked the heavens that her daughter had the same sense of humor as her. But she did notice that Leonor never curses, she's never heard her say a bad word. _A total and complete opposite from her._ So she makes it a point to at least avoid cursing around her daughter.

"Will she be in town for Christmas? Maybe you could invite her for dinner, Christmas Eve perhaps?"

"Mom-" Leonor gave her an _are you serious_ look.

"What? I am your mother. It is only fitting for me to meet the person." She teased.

"I just don't want to freak her out. She might think it's too soon." Leonor explained softly.

"Honey, if she's really serious about you, she won't think that. But then again, you shouldn't force her to do anything she doesn't want to. It's an open invitation, alright? I won't be offended if she says no, no matter what her reason is."

"Okay."

They got into the ornaments isle and both women suddenly got excited. Leonor already knew that Hotch was spending Christmas with them and she couldn't be any happier for her mother. She was really tempted to invite Alex over, but she didn't want to feel awkward in case Alex already had plans.

"So, Hotch is a Trekkie, huh?" She teased as she saw her mother pick up a Star Trek ornament.

"Like you wouldn't believe. He knows all the lines, it's annoying."

Leonor laughed. "I bet he says the same thing about you and Star Wars."

"Star Wars is a great movie." Emily defended.

"And Star Trek isn't?"

"Whose side are you on?" Emily argued. Suddenly a certain ornament caught her attention. "Oh hey, look at this." She said, handing Leonor a Lady Justice ornament.

She studied it carefully. _Alex might like it._ "You think she'll like it?" Leonor asked shyly.

"I think she'll love it, honey." Emily smiled. "How about we find a nice box for it and some ribbon, huh?"

Leonor nodded and smiled. "Okay."

/

Emily smiled as Leonor grunted in her sleep. It was 4am and Emily couldn't wait to go outside. It was snowing – the first snow of the year, finally. She actually thought they weren't going to have a white Christmas. She wanted to take Leonor outside and enjoy the snow for a few minutes- a tradition. She remembered, during the first 8 or 9 years of her life, her father would wake up once the first snow would start to fall, they'd go outside and just sit there and enjoy, but it would usually end in nasty snowball fights.

"Lee, wake up! Hurry!" Emily shook her daughter awake, a little stronger this time.

"Wha-?" She groaned. "What's wrong?"

"Get up and put your snow gear on. C'mon!" She said, pulling Leonor up.

The younger woman, who was still in a sleepy haze, could barely understand what was happening but she did understand her mother telling her to put her snow gear on. But finally, a few minutes later and of course, with the help of Emily, they were both out the door.

"It's cold, mom." Leonor murmured.

Emily looked at her daughter, her face flushed with the cold but beautifully illuminated by the moonlight. When people tell her that Leonor looked a lot like her, she didn't believe them. _But now,_ now she could see it – she had her complexion, the dark hair, her nose, her eyes, and _goodness_ those eyelashes – though Emily would curl her eyelashes and put mascara on, Leonor's were long and always seemed to be curled even though she doesn't do them. There was no doubt, her daughter was beautiful and she felt honored to have given life to such a beautiful soul.

"Come here, baby." She cooed, pulling her shivering daughter closer to her as they sat on the front steps of the apartment building. Despite the thick coat, hat and gloves, Leonor could still feel the cold biting her skin.

"When I was a kid, my father would always take me out to experience the first snowfall, no matter what time it was. Of course, being a kid, I was always so full energy and so I was always jumping out of bed even at 3AM. My mother hated it, but we didn't care. It was our tradition." Emily explained. "At least for the first 9 years of my life."

Leonor looked at her mother in awe as she tells a story from her childhood. It was a rare occasion. She got the feeling that her mother never liked talking about her childhood, so she didn't push and accepted only what her mother is able to tell.

"Do you ever miss him?" Leonor asked quietly.

"I did, yes. I missed him even though he was still around. He was just… aloof. I always blamed my mother for taking the spark out of my father, and consequently, from me."

Leonor suddenly felt sad and angry at the same time, all for the lost childhood of her mother.

"I love you, mom." Leonor whispered as she laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

Emily kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I love you too."

/

"Come in." Alex called in from her office. She knew everybody had left already, trying to fight through the holiday rush, maybe fit in some Christmas shopping in there. But not Alex – she had all the intentions of working her butt off through the holidays. Overtime, early office hours, no sleep, those kinds – and she's always so grateful about the piling paperwork that seems to get high around December.

It's not like she hated the holidays. She just had no reason to celebrate. Ever since her father died and her mother cut off connections with her, she just had no reason to celebrate anymore and celebrating alone is just sadder and more pitiful than not celebrating at all. And Alexandra Cabot does not do self-pity.

"Hi." Leonor greeted quietly as she closed the door. "Letting the Christmas traffic rush pass, counselor?"

"You could say that." Alex answered without looking up from the file she was reading and Leonor knew that she was tense or at least worked up about something. So, she sat down on the chair and placed a little box on top of the file that Alex was reading.

This finally caught Alex's attention. "For me?" Leonor nodded shyly. "Thank you." Alex smiled.

Alex untied the silver sparkly ribbon carefully before opening the box. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the beautiful ornament in it. But Leonor couldn't help but notice the sadness that came with it.

"I just… I just thought of you when I saw it. It's you know… for your tree." She said shyly.

Alex smiled softly at the suddenly shy brunette in front of her. She walked up to her, pulled her close and gave her a sweet kiss. _God she missed her._ "It's beautiful. Thank you, darling." It's taking everything in her not to cry. It's been so long since she has gotten a Christmas gift, mainly because she would always tell people she was out of town even if she wasn't.

"Will you be in town for Christmas?" Alex was taken aback by her question. Normally, she would say no. But this was different. Leonor was different. But then can, she can't just suddenly dump everything on this poor woman. "My mother wants to invite you for Christmas Eve dinner. No pressure though. She won't be offended if you say no." Leonor continued, but Alex barely heard a thing.

"Alex?" Leonor could see the conflict in those beautiful blue eyes.

"Uhmm. No. No, I won't be… in town." She stuttered. "I'm sorry, darling." She pulled away a little and tried to sound a little more convincing. "I have this… thing too. And I know it's your first Christmas with your mother, so I don't want to interfere with that and –"

"Alex!" Leonor cut her off and giggled. "It's okay." Honestly, Leonor was not convinced. She knew Alex was lying and there was more to it. But Leonor was not going to push. She didn't want to upset her.

Alex sighed. "I'm really sorry. Maybe we can have our own Christmas after?" She tried to sound chirpier.

Leonor nodded and grinned. "I'd like that." She said and leaned to place a soft kiss on her lips, to which Alex responded gratefully.

"I'll miss you." Leonor said, placing another quick peck on her Alex's lips.

"I'll miss you too, darling." Alex answered, this time placing a kiss on Leonor's lips.

/

"Mom?" Leonor slowly walked to her mother who was sitting on the couch, working something on her laptop. It was the night of December 23rd and Leonor knew that Emily's team was off from December 23rd until December 26th. Her mother was most likely catching up on emails or online shopping, the latter most probably.

"Hey." Emily answered without taking her eyes off the screen.

"So, I did invite Alex but she declined, says she's out of town for something." Leonor said tentatively.

Emily finally looked up at her daughter. "Why do I feel like there's a _but_ coming?"

"I think she's lying."

Emily's eyebrows shot up at her statement. "And why would you think that?"

"Alex is a lawyer. Even when she's bluffing, she does it with conviction. But last night, when she was telling that she had somewhere to be for Christmas, I just knew she was lying. _I just knew._ " She whispered those last words.

Emily looked at her for a moment, not being able to read her expression. Finally, she closed her laptop and stood up from the couch. "Let's go."

Leonor stood up. "Where are we going?"

Emily smiled knowingly. "We are going shopping for gifts – for Alex. Then tomorrow, you're gonna go to her apartment, have her pack a bag, and bring her over here for Christmas."

"What? Mom, I am not-"

"Leonor, your gut is telling you that she's lying, right?" Leonor nodded.

"Then, she most probably is. And that means she's most likely going to spend Christmas alone."

Leonor thought for a moment. _Oh._ "Oh." _Oh Alex._

"Yeah. So, c'mon. We've got some shopping to do."

/

Alex sighed as she heard a knock on the door. It was the morning of December 24th and while everybody seemed to be running in and out of stores for last minute shopping or travelling to see families, Alex was alone in her apartment, and planned to stay in there until the holidays were over and she could go back to work.

 _Shit._ Her heart stopped as she opened the door and saw who it was. "Leonor?"

Leonor smiled shyly. "May come in? I'm freezing."

Alex grinned a little as she made way for Leonor to come in. She knew the brunette got cold easily. She closed the door and turned to her unexpected visitor. "What brought you here?"

"Hello to you, too, Alex." Leonor smirked.

Alex stepped closer and placed a chaste kiss on Leonor's lips, the other woman gladly responding. "Hi, darling."

"You're not a very good liar, you know?" Leonor smiled as they pulled away.

Alex's face was a mixture of shock and embarrassment as she remembered telling Leonor she'd be out of town for Christmas. "I- uhm… Sorry."

"Go pack a bag, Alex."

"What?" The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Pack an overnight bag. You're spending Christmas at _Casa Prentiss_ , not the most luxurious, but definitely the most fun and most Christmas-sy apartment right now." Leonor explained, ending with a nervous chuckle, her hear thumping in her chest. _Please say yes._ She noticed the lack of Christmas spirit in the blonde's apartment, the lack of joy in the blonde's eyes, and she intends to bring that joy back, even just for the holidays.

"Leonor, I can't-"

Leonor decided to play Alex's weak card. She pouted her bottom lip and batted her eyelashes a little. "Please, Alex."

Alex couldn't suppress a smile any longer. "You're adorable." She grinned. "And you're not playing fair." They laughed.

"I know, but, I just don't like the idea of you being alone right now. So, please, pretty please?"

Alex sigh. _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad._ "Alright."

Leonor squealed and jumped to wrap her arms around Alex's neck, a move that made Alex laugh and she couldn't help hug the brunette back. She placed a soft kiss on her temple before pulling away. "I'll be right back. Help yourself to anything."

Once she was alone, Leonor was able to look around the apartment. It was modern, pristine, and definitely _pricey,_ like those apartment interiors you see in the magazines. It was clear that Alex came from a wealthy family, though the blonde does not show it. For Leonor though, her everyday expensive suits for work were indication enough. As Leonor looked around, she could also tell that it was quite lonely and not very home-y.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a door opening and then closing, followed by Alex walking into the living room, a small duffel bag on her shoulder.

"Ready?" Leonor grinned.

Alex grinned. They headed down to the basement to take Alex's car. While they were driving, Leonor noticed that they were going in a different direction than to her apartment.

"Alex?" She asked.

"Oh, I need to shop for your mom and her boyfriend. I remember you telling me the other day he'll be joining you guys too." She said shyly. Her gifts for Leonor were already in the trunk of her car, originally planning to give it to her after the holidays.

Leonor made a face. "Ugh. Just hearing the word _boyfriend_ and referring it to Agent Hotchner is weird."

Alex laughed. "Well, what would you prefer then?"

"I don't know. Just don't say the words _your mom and her boyfriend_ again."

Alex put the car in park and turned off the ignition in the parking lot. She leaned over the console and placed a kiss of Leonor's lips. "You're cute. Now, c'mon, we got some last minute shopping to do."

Leonor groaned as she got off the car. "What is it with the women in my life and shopping?" She mumbled.

/

Emily smiled as she felt arms snaking around her waist from behind, eventually tightening around her.

"Something smells good." Hotch murmured against her neck. "And it's most definitely not apple pie." He placed kisses along her neck.

Emily couldn't help but moan quietly. "Hmm. I think someone's trying to vie for that spot on Santa's naughty list." She smiled.

"Hey. I'm being nice, am I?"

"Not when you're seducing me this way and my daughter and her girlfriend can walk through that door any minute. "

"We'll hear them."

"I doubt it. C'mon, you gotta let me work here. Besides, just because my daughter is an adult, does not mean it feels right for her walking in on us." Emily said.

"Alright." He conceded, but not before giving her one last kiss.

As if on cue, they could hear the door being opened.

"We're here!" Leonor announced as they walked into the door, mainly because she wanted to avoid _awkward_ encounters.

Emily and Hotch walked to the living room to meet them.

"Mom, Aaron, this is Alex." Leonor said, smiling awkwardly. "Alex, this is my mom, Emily Prentiss, and this is Agent Aaron Hotchner."

"It's very nice to meet you, Agent Prentiss." Alex reached out her hand to Emily, opting to shake hers. "I'm Alexandra Cabot, but you can call me Alex-"

It was as if the wind was knocked out of her when she was suddenly pulled into a hug. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Alex."

Alex couldn't but smile as she felt the warmth of a maternal hug again. "Likewise, Agent Prentiss."

"Please, call me Emily." She said as they pulled.

Alex reached out her hand again for Aaron, which he gladly shook. "It's very nice to meet you, Agent Hotchner."

"Aaron, please. Agent Hotchner is for work."

The rest of the day were spend indoors as no one wanted to even step out into the cold. Movies, naps and games consisted their day. Alex fitted right in, to Leonor's delight. At first she was scared that she freaked Alex out by inviting her over early into their relationship. But Alex is amazing – of course, she is. Though Leonor could see that she was still shy around them, the beautiful blonde got along with Emily and Aaron very well – even beating all of them in monopoly thrice, and in poker twice.

After dinner, Leonor baked cookies for everyone to decorate. After which, they teamed up for a Gingerbread House decorating contest. It was Leonor and Alex vs Hotch and Emily. When they were done, Emily took pictures and sent it to the rest of the team to let them vote. In the end, Hotch and Emily won.

"Alright! Everybody in the living room! We're opening early presents tonight!" Emily all but ordered them as she walked to her bedroom to get their early presents.

"Yes, ma'am." Leonor countered.

"I hear one more of that and I'm throwing away half of your presents." Emily teased, walking back to the living room with four gift bags in her hands. She handed them each a bag with their names on it. Alex was clearly surprised that she got one, considering her staying for Christmas was a simultaneous decision.

"Okay. Everybody open in 3, 2, 1, go!" Everyone rummaged through the gift bags, gift tissues flying everywhere.

Leonor gasped as she pulled out the item. "Christmas pajamas!" She exclaimed. "Look, Alex! We're matching!" She grinned. They both got red plaid pajamas, made from the softest material there is.

"I know!" Alex chuckled. "Oh they're so soft! These are so nice. Thank you, Emily." Alex said sincerely.

"I agree. These are great. Thank you, sweetheart." Aaron said, placing a quick kiss to Emily's temple.

"You're welcome." She said and then turned to Hotch. "Look, we're matching too." She help up her pajamas, smiling shyly. She and Hotch both got red plaid pajama bottoms that matches Leonor's and Alex's, but their pajama tops were plain red long sleeves. It was displayed on the men's wear, but Emily liked the material and she liked loose pajama tops anyway, so she figured they might as well match.

He chuckled at Emily's little blush. "Yeah. I like that."

/

Leonor stirred and opened her eyes. She stared up the ceiling and smiled. _It's Christmas._ She then turned her head to the sleeping blonde to her right and smiled even wider.

"God you're beautiful." She whispered, placing a light kiss on her forehead. Alex sighed contently but didn't wake up. Instead, she unconsciously cuddled closer to the warm body next to her. Leonor held Alex tightly around her arms, letting her sleep in for a little longer.

20 minutes later, she felt Alex start to stir in her arms. She watch, mesmerized, as her eyes fluttered open and stretched, letting out a tiny squeal. If she could wake up next to this beautiful woman every single day, she would die a happy woman.

Leonor chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You're too cute for your own good, you know?"

Alex groaned and snuggled impossibly closer to Leonor, closing her eyes again, but not before placing a quick kiss to the brunette's jaw.

"Not a morning person, I see." She said, holding Alex a little tighter.

"S'cold." Alex murmured, barely audible for Leonor to understand.

Leonor couldn't help but smile. She liked this side of Alex – the one with her walls down. "I know, baby. But it's also Christmas." She cooed. "I have to get up and make Christmas breakfast, but you sleep a little longer, okay?" She said softly, gently entangling herself from the clinging blonde.

Alex only hummed in agreement as she drift off to sleep again, barely registering Leonor tucking the blankets tighter around and placing a kiss on her forehead.

Reaching the kitchen, Leonor headed straight to work. She just hoped that her housemates sleep a little longer. She already told Emily that she wanted to cook a Christmas Breakfast, and even did groceries for her ingredients.

She just took out the quiche from oven when her mother and Aaron walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, guys! Merry Christmas!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas!" Emily greeted her daughter, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Merry Christmas, Leonor." Hotch greeted, giving the young woman a quick hug.

"There's coffee in the pot. Breakfast is almost ready – I just need to finish these eggs." She said.

"Lee! These look amazing!" Emily exclaimed when she saw what was on the table – a fruit platter, freshly baked croissants, freshly baked cinnamon buns, turkey ham, bacon, quiche, and sausages. The table was set with fun Christmas stuff and looked rather festive.

"What time did you wake up?" Her mother asked, still in awe as to how the young woman could make all of these without any help.

"Early enough." She shrugged. "Aside from the croissants, these are not hard to make actually." Leonor plated the eggs and placed them on the table.

"Where's Alex?" Hotch had to ask.

"I'll wake her up now. I had to let her sleep a little longer, she was really tired."

Once everyone was settled at the dining, they enjoyed the little Christmas breakfast Leonor had prepared for them. The ambience was festive, cheery, and lively. It felt just like family.

Everyone gathered in the living room for stockings and presents after breakfast. Squeals of joy and choruses of _thank you's_ could be heard as Leonor and Alex go through their stockings. Once again, Alex was surprised she even had one. Hotch and Emily decided to go through theirs later, content on watching the two other women.

Same thing happened when it was time for presents. Both Leonor and Alex got quite a handful of presents, especially Leonor who had also gotten presents from the rest of the team.

Alex was quietly tearing the wrapping paper of one of the presents from Emily. She gasped as she saw what was inside the box. Suddenly feeling so emotional, she couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes.

"Alex? You okay?" Emily ask, smiling softly at the emotional blonde who still staring at the gift.

Alex nodded. She sniffed and wiped her tears. "This is…" She shook her head in frustration at her sudden inability to find words. Instead, she stood up and hugged Emily. "Thank you."

"What is it?" Leonor ask in confusion.

"Little Women, one of the original signed copies." Emily said proudly.

"Only 5 of those left in the world." Hotch added.

"Aww baby" Leonor cooed as she pulled Alex to her in a quick hug. "You're so cute."

Alex gave a teary chuckle. "How'd you find this?"

"The internet is a magical thing." Emily said.

"It also helps if you know someone named Penelope Garcia." Hotch grinned.

"I don't know who she is, but please thank her for me too. I've tried for so long to find this, but it's always a dead end for me." She explained. "I really really love it, Emily. Thank you."

"Lee, I have one more present for you." Emily said, handing her a tiny box with a rather huge silver ribbon.

Leonor was confused. She already so many presents. "Thanks, mom." She carefully tore the ribbon and wrapping paper off. It was her turn to be emotional when she opened the small box.

She looked at Emily in disbelief. "Mom…"

Emily grinned proudly. "I hope you like your new ride."

"Oh my gosh!" She squealed and practically jumped at her mother, enveloping her in a tight hug. "Thank you, momma! Thank you!" She sobbed.

Leonor pulled away and the realization hit her. "Wait! I can't drive! I don't have a license!" She laughed and cried at the same time.

Everyone just laughed at her hysterical state though. "We will get your license, honey. Don't worry. And your new car is in its own parking space beside mine in the basement carpark."

"Thank you, mom!"

/

Later that evening, Leonor padded into the kitchen to get tea for her and Alex when she saw her mother making tea as well.

"Momma." She said, hugging her mother.

"Hey you." Emily kissed the top of Leonor's head. "Had a good day?"

"I had an _amazing_ day." She said a she pulled away. "Thank you, mom. This is the best Christmas I've ever had." Leonor said softly, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Oh my sweet girl." Emily pulled her into a hug again. "I'm so glad you had an amazing day, and don't you worry, honey, we have many more Christmas days to celebrate." And Leonor believed her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the character Alexandra Cabot.**

 _Something's wrong,_ Leonor thought. It's almost lunch time and no one has seen Alex, not even her shadow. Alexandra Cabot was never late – not in their dates, not in the office, not in meetings, not in conferences, and especially not for court. What worried her even more was the fact that she has not able to contact Alex since this morning – no one in the office was able to contact Alex.

"Alex, if you get this, please call or message me back. I'm really worried." That was the 14th message she has left since that morning. Although her mind was solely focused on the currently MIA blonde, she forced herself to power-through all the work she had that day in order to finish early. Leonor jumped at one point when her phone beeped. Thinking that finally Alex has messaged her back, she immediately grabbed her phone. Leonor gave out a sigh of disappointment when she saw that the message was from her mother.

 _Out on a case. Atlanta. I'll call when I can. Love you._ It read, a typical message she gets when her mother has to travel for a case.

 _Be safe. Love you too._ She messaged back before putting her phone down.

Once the clock struck 5, Leonor quickly packed her things and said goodbye to her co-workers. She tried not to break any speed limits as she drove to the blonde's apartment. She was thinking worst – after what she's been through, she couldn't help it.

"Alex?" She knocked on the door of Alex's apartment. "Alex, are you here? Please open up!" Getting no response, she tried to turn the doorknob, and to her surprise, it wasn't locked. _Note to self: Remind Alex to lock her door. God anyone could've walked in!_ But she also knew that Alex wasn't stupid – she would not forget something as simple but as important as locking your door.

Locking the door behind her, she slowly scanned the living area. _No Alex._ "Alex, babe, are you home?" She called softly, but still got no response. Seeing that the blonde was also not in the kitchen, she proceeded to Alex's room.

The door was cracked open and there was no sound coming from the other side. "Alex? Are you here?" She slowly opened the door and peaked in. Seeing a sleeping form on the bed, she sighed and walked slowly to the bed.

"Alex?" She whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed. The white duvet was covering the blonde up to her chin and she was sound asleep. Leonor placed her hand on top of the sheet and could immediately feel the warmth emanating from the blonde's body and through the sheet apparently.

"Alex? Alex, honey, can you wake up for me?" She shook the blonde's shoulder which immediately stirred her awake.

Alex groaned and turned her head to see a somewhat hazy form in front of her. She has been feeling awful since she got home last night and it only got worse. Her head was pounding, her body was achy, she was cold, and she just felt awful in general.

"Hey you." Leonor gave a smile as Alex tried to focus her eyes on her. "You got us all worried, hon."

"Leonor?" Alex croaked. Her throat was extremely sore and talking was painful.

"Yeah, it's me." Leonor took in the discomfort in Alex's face and her heart broke for her. "Oh, honey. Why didn't you call me?"

"Tired. Head hurts. Don't know where…phone."

"Alex, you were in bed all day?" Leonor asked, slightly alarmed when the blonde nodded, her eyes closing again. "So you have not eaten or drank anything?" The blonde shook her head in response.

Leonor sighed. "Okay. Okay." She stood up and but was stopped by an extremely warm hand catching hers.

"Stay." Alex murmured.

Leonor sat back down and smoothed the hair off Alex's face, feeling her hot skin. "I'm not leaving, honey, I promise. But I need to get some food and medicine in you, alright?"

" 'kay" She answered, falling back asleep again.

Leonor took Alex's temperature. _102.9._ She sighed, no wonder Alex was feeling awful. She then took to the kitchen to make some broth for Alex. She figured her girlfriend was not ready to eat anything solid.

"Alex." Leonor called softly. "I need you to wake up, sweetie." She smoothed the hair away from her face and kissed her warm forehead.

Alex started to stir and whimpered in pain. She hurt all over that even turning her head slightly to look at Leonor.

"Hey you." Leonor smiled. "Think you can manage some soup and crackers?"

Alex did feel hungry, but she was too sore to move and wasn't sure if she could keep it down. But she gave a tiny nod anyway, just to appease Leonor. She didn't want to be a burden any further.

The blonde couldn't help but groan though as Leonor helped her up.

"There you go." Leonor whispered as she propped Alex up on some pillows to help her sit up. "Here. I've made you some soup. Well, it's just broth for now and it's what my mother back in Italy would give me when I was sick."

"Thank you." Alex managed to croak out, but Leonor did notice her wince in pain.

She smiled softly at Alex. "Try not to talk for a while, huh? I know it hurts." Alex nodded meekly.

Leonor fed Alex soup and crackers until it was half gone. Alex then shook her head and whispered, "s'enough."

"Okay, sweetie." She placed the bowl on the bed side table and grabbed the glass of water and pills. "Here, take this. It should help with the fever." Alex took the pills and downed it with water. "Drink as much water as you can, baby." To Leonor's surprise, Alex managed to drink the full glass of water.

"Good girl."

Leonor washed the dishes after having dinner by herself. She then made sure to lock the door and the windows before returning back to the bedroom. She changed into some borrowed pajamas and did her night routine before joining her restless girlfriend in bed.

Leonor sat there, soothing Alex, stroking her hair. Alex whimpered from time to time, her massive headache making it hard for her to fall asleep.

"Head hurts." Alex whimpered, almost in tears.

" _Shhh._ I know, baby. Hold on." She said, as she put several drops of peppermint essential oil on her palm and rubbing her hands together. She then proceeded to massage Alex's forehead and temple while whispering soothing words to her.

Alex started to relax as Leonor continued to massage her head. She couldn't help but cuddle closer to the warm body next to her. Leonor smiled as Alex placed her head on her shoulder. She held Alex tighter and closer to her with one arm, rubbing her back and shoulder soothingly, while her other hand continued to massage her head. _Finally._ Finally, Alex fell asleep.

Leonor jumped slightly as she was pulled from her sleep by her ringing phone. She didn't even know she fell asleep. She grumbled as fumbled the nightstand for her phone, hoping not to disturb Alex.

"Hey mom." She greeted quietly, as she carefully moved away from the sleeping blonde.

"Hey. How was your day?" Emily greeted. The team had just settled back to their hotel.

"Long." She sighed, stepping just outside of the room. "Alex is sick, so I might stay with her for a while. Is that okay?"

Emily couldn't help but smile on the other end. "Of course, Lee. I'm sorry she's sick though. Has she seen the doctor?"

"No. But I think I'll make a house call tomorrow morning. I don't really want to drag her out of her home, she can barely sit up on the bed."

"Yeah, I think a house call is a good idea. Well make sure she drinks lots of fluids, even though she eats minimally. Take her temperature every hour and write it down. Place a cool damp cloth on her forehead from time to time."

Leonor couldn't help but smile. She already knew these things but she really appreciated the gesture and concern her mother has for Alex. Over the past months, Emily had also become closer to Alex and somehow became a second mother to the younger blonde, which delighted Leonor to no end. So she understands that Emily's maternal instincts come out on situations like this.

"I've got it, mom. Thanks though. How's your day?"

"Long." They both chuckled as she mimicked Leonor's answer earlier. "We're just settling in the hotel for the night – start fresh in the morning."

"You'll be safe?" Leonor ask softly.

"Always, honey."

Leonor then saw in the corner of her eye how Alex struggled to get up and then ran to the bathroom before she heard the awful retching sounds.

 _Shit._ "I have to go, mom. I love you." She said urgently.

"Okay. I love you." As the call ended, Emily just had to send a quick message. _Update me on Alex. If you need anything, you know how to reach me. I mean it._

/

Leonor held Alex's long blonde hair back as Alex threw up what little food she had. When there was nothing left, the painful retching plagued her and she couldn't seem to stop. She whimpered and cried pain.

"It's okay, baby."

"Hurts." She cried. "Can't stop." She said as the dry heave continued.

"I know. I know, I'm sorry." She whispered. "It will stop, sweetie. Just try and stay calm. Don't fight it. I know it hurts, but don't fight it. Let it come out, even if it's just dry heaves. There you go." She coaxed her girlfriend.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Alex slumped backwards and into Leonor's arms, panting, trying to catch breath.

Leonor cradled Alex in her arms like a child, with her face buried in her neck. She could feel the blonde panting. "There. It's over, baby. We'll just sit here for a little while. _Shhh_. You're okay, sweetheart. You're okay." She cooed, swaying a little from side to side, placing intermittent kisses on her head, in an attempt to calm and soothe her.

After a while, Leonor managed to get Alex back into the bedroom, changed her sweat-soaked clothes, and back in bed. Once she was sure Alex was settled, she took a quick shower, got dressed, and made sure the door and all the windows were locked.

When she re-entered the room, she noticed that Alex was tossing, turning, and whimpering on the bed.

"Alex?" She placed her hand on Alex's forehead and immediately drew it back at the heat she felt there. She grabbed the thermometer and lightly placed it in Alex's ear.

" _Shhh._ It's okay, baby. Just taking your temperature." She cooed when Alex whimpered at the foreign object she felt on her ear. _103.3._ Leonor sighed. – no wonder Alex was feeling so awful.

"Alex, I think we need to go the hospital right now, honey." She said softly. There was only so much that she can do, and seeing how uncomfortable and how much Alex is suffering right now, she couldn't take it. An ER visit is definitely needed now – anything to make her lover feel better.

Alex though, despite her achy body and hazy mind, was opposed to the idea. "No." She whimpered and grabbed Leonor's hand tightly. "Please. No go. Please. Don't want to." She tried to convey her message as intelligible as her foggy mind could. Alex hates hospitals, hates having procedures done, hates being poked and prodded.

"Alex, honey-"

"Please. I don't want to. Please. Please." To Leonor's surprise, Alex started sobbing.

"Okay. _Shhh._ Okay, baby. We're not going right now. Don't cry, sweet girl. _Shhh._ "

Desperate to soothe her girlfriend to at least get them through the night, Leonor picked Alex up and walked over to the soft and plush white rocking chair by the French doors of Alex's room. She sat down with Alex on her lap and covered her with the blanket hanging on the back of the chair. She placed her feet on the also rocking footrest.

To her delight, a still sniffling Alex cuddled closer, burying her face on the crook of Leonor's neck and one of her hand fisting her shirt. In what felt like forever, Alex felt warm and comfortable.

"All warm, my love?" She asked, the certain endearment easily slipping out.

Alex moaned in response. The back and forth motion of the chair and being in the arms of her amazing woman was soothing her. Leonor noticed that the ill blonde was starting to fall asleep, and she could only hope that whatever amount of comfort she has was enough to last them through the night.

/

Leonor watched anxiously as the doctor looked Alex over. Last night did not go as she'd hope. While Alex managed to sleep, she raced to the bathroom two hours later and then again about 30 minutes after that, and what little sleep could get was plagued by chills.

The brunette made the call for a doctor just after breakfast, though Alex had none. Now, less than an hour after the call, Alex is finally getting some medical attention. The blonde was not happy though, and despite feeling too weak to start a full argument, she made sure she conveyed her annoyance by grunting and flinching away when the doctor even tries to touch her. It didn't last long though as she did not have that much energy.

"It's a vicious bug going around. We've had 5 people come into the emergency room just yesterday." Dr. Rebecca Ross explained as she finished checking over Alex. The blonde immediately curling up and turning her back away from them. "It shouldn't last long, but if her fever goes beyond 103.5, you should definitely take her to the ER. She's currently at 103.2, so you should continue monitoring it every hour."

"What can I do? Is there any way to at least make feel comfortable? She's also refusing meals."

Dr. Ross couldn't help but smile lightly at the worry in Leonor's voice. She knew love when she sees it. "I think you being here and taking care of her is a big help. You can only do so much. The meal refusal is not uncommon, but I suggest to coax her to have at least some crackers and soup. Water intake is very important too. We'd much rather have her peeing more than usual than not at all." Leonor nodded, trying to take it all in.

"Here is her prescription for antibiotics that she should take every 8 hours with a meal. I'm going to give her a shot of it for now, this one is of a stronger dosage so you should give her the next one after 12 hours." She explained, injecting the antibiotics into the unsuspecting blonde's arm.

"It's also going to make her drowsy, so she should be out of it for a few hours. But that's okay, her body needs all the rest it can get."

Once the doctor had left, Leonor immediately made a call to the pharmacy so they could deliver it within the day. After which, she decided to deal with paperwork that her co-worker dropped off for her earlier that morning. So she took residence on the couch and buried herself in the tons of paperwork.

She decided to check on Alex about 3 hours later. The moment she stepped into the room, she could hear light whimpers from Alex.

"Alex?" She called softly. The blonde seemed to be a rather disturbing dream. "Alex, wake up. Wake up, honey."

But Alex just continued to whimper, trapped in her dream. " _Shhh._ Honey, it's okay. You're okay." Leonor cooed softly.

"Mama." Alex whimpered.

"Alex?"

"Mama, please." The unconscious Alex begged to whoever it was in her dream. Leonor noticed the tears that fell from her eyes and the pain etched on her face. She became desperate as she realized that it would be hard to wake up Alex and pull her out from whatever dream she's in, and so she's decided to resume their position last night. She carried Alex and walked back to the rocking chair, sitting on it with the still whimpering blonde curled tight on her lap and covered in the thick blanket.

"What's gotten my love so upset, huh?" She cooed softly, even though she knew Alex wouldn't answer. " _Shhhh._ Don't cry, sweetheart. It's okay, you'll be okay. I'm right here. _Shhhh._ " She continued to whisper sweet reassurances to Alex, until Alex finally – _finally –_ calmed down and fell asleep.

By that evening, Emily called and said that they're back in town. It was a quick case. Leonor requested for her mother to get her some clothes. Emily insisted on bringing dinner too, to which Leonor eventually agreed. An hour later, Leonor opened the door for her mother.

"Hi, mom." She greeted, giving Emily a tight hug.

"Hey, babe. How are you doing?" She asked, dropping the duffel bag by the door and the brown paper containing dinner on the kitchen counter.

Leonor sighed. "I'm okay. A little tired, but it's nothing compared to what Alex is going through."

"How is she?"

"She's having a rough time, but the doctor said it shouldn't last long. Her fever is still there, though it has not gotten high enough to warrant an ER trip. She's throwing up and eats very little. She's been very restless too. Earlier today, I could tell she was having a disturbing dream. She was crying and calling out "Mama." I… my heart broke for her, mom. There's clearly something painful in there."

Emily could tell that her daughter looks a little lost as to how to help Alex. "Well, whatever it is, I know Alex will tell you when she's ready. And I also know that you being here and taking care of her is enough for her."

Leonor nodded and gave her mother a tight smile. She was about to offer some tea but then they heard whimpers coming from the bedroom again.

"Go to her." Emily nodded to the direction of the bedroom. "I'll set up your dinner here and get out of your hair."

As expected, Alex was again trapped in a dream that seemed disturbing. "Alex, honey, wake up. You're just dreaming, baby. Just dreaming." She tried to shake her awake but to no avail.

Alex continued to whimper and cry as if she was in pain. "Mama, please!" She sobbed.

"Alex!" Leonor tried again, shaking her a little harder this time. Finally, Alex's eyes snapped open and she sat up, catching her breath.

"Alex?" She call softly, but the blonde still seemed to be out of it.

Back in the kitchen, Emily could not bear just hearing the cries of the young woman she also considers her daughter. So she slowly made her way to the bedroom. The door was opened and she was there just in time to see Alex sit up, looking so lost.

"Alex, can you hear me?" Leonor asked. She could see Emily approaching them and she just gave her a pleading look. She gave a grateful sigh when Emily nodded. She stood on the side of bed to let Emily sit in front of her.

"Alex, sweetie?" Emily called softly, grabbing her hand to try and ground her. This seemed to work as Alex's eyes snapped up to meet hers. Then suddenly, Alex was clinging to her and sobbing.

"Oh sweet, sweet girl." Emily cooed, holding Alex tightly against her and rocking from side to side. "I know. I know. You're having a rough time, huh? You've been having bad dreams, honey? You were calling for your mama? I'm sorry she's not here, sweet girl. I'm so sorry." But Alex shook her head vigorously and sobbed even harder.

"Okay. It's okay. _Shhh._ " She rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Slow down your breathing, honey. C'mon. Breathe with me. In… and out. Good. In… and out. There you go. Once more." She instructed Alex in order to prevent a full-blown panic attack. "That's it. That's my girl. _Shhh._ You're okay."

Alex eventually calmed down and had reduced to sniffling and hiccups. "I'm sorry." She choked out. "I'm sorry."

"No, honey. You have nothing to apologize for, alright?" Emily said softly. She felt Alex nod and pull away slowly. The blonde then turned to Leonor and raised her arms.

Leonor smiled and took Alex into a hug. "It's okay, baby. You're okay."

To say that Alex was exhausted is an understatement. She didn't understand why she was having these dream, didn't know what was triggering them. All she knew was that she was feeling horrible, cold, achy, ashamed, and so, so tired. They finally managed to coax her to lie down again, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, her eyes closed.

"It's okay, sweet girl. You just sleep. It's all okay." Emily cooed, running her fingers through her hair until her breathing evened out.

"Eat your dinner." Emily strictly warned Leonor as they walked to the door. She was meeting Hotch for a late dinner since he got stuck in a meeting.

"Yes, mother." Leonor smirked. "And thank you, for what you did for Alex. I think she really needed someone maternal right now. Nothing beats a mother's love anyway." She said shyly.

"Hey, no need to thank me for that. I'm just sorry she's so miserable right now." Emily said softly, really feeling bad for her pseudo-daughter.

"I love you, mom." She said as she hugged her mother.

"I love you too, sweetie." Emily kissed the top of her head before pulling away. "And you're doing an amazing job taking care of her. I'm so proud of you."

/

To Leonor's relief, Alex seemed to be doing so much better by the end of the 3rd day. Though she still had some fever, it was on the low side, and she's managed to keep some light food down. Her sleeping pattern was also marginally better.

It was mid-afternoon of the 4th day and Leonor was finishing some paperwork on the couch that their office messenger will pick up later that day. Their morning was so much better. Alex has managed to eat some toast. She still a little sluggish but was able to move around a little. The exhaustion was still there though and she's been sleeping most of the day.

So Leonor was surprised when Alex suddenly appeared beside her on the couch. Alex woke up and was disappointed when Leonor wasn't with her. She's not usually this clingy, or needy, nor would she even tolerate being _babied_ when she was sick, but it was different with Leonor. She longed for her all the time. She admits that this whole ordeal scared her as she's never been this sick for as long as she can remember, and so Leonor became her lifeline.

"Hey you." Leonor greeted softly as Alex sat beside her, resting her head on her shoulder. She instinctively placed her hand on her forehead and frowned a little when she felt some warmth there, and she could hear a little rasp as Alex breathes. _Great, a chest infection is just what she needs after all of this!_

"You're still a little warm, baby. How are you feeling?"

"Just… tired."

"No more pain? How about your head?"

Alex shook her head a little against her shoulder. "No. No more pain. Just tired."

"Okay. Well, why don't you go lie back down on the bed, huh?" Leonor was running her fingers through those soft blonde locks. She desperately wanted to ask Alex about her nightmares, but she figured that could be a worry for another day.

"Wanna stay with you."

Leonor smiled as she felt her hear flutter. How could she possibly deny her of that? She then placed her paperwork back in its folder and on the table, placing a pillow on her lap and patting it, inviting Alex to lie down.

Alex sighed as Leonor started running her fingers through her blonde locks. She thought back to the last few days. She couldn't remember all of it well, she's never been that sick in the longest time, but she knew that Leonor was here the entire time – taking care of her, sacrificing time for her.

"You were here the whole time." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. I was, and still am." Leonor smiled down at her.

Alex turned to look up to Leonor, catching her brown eyes in her ocean blues. "Thank you."

Leonor shook her head. "No need to thank me. That's what people do for the one they love." Leonor knew it wasn't an accidental slip. She _meant_ it.

Alex couldn't believe what she just heard. She was intensely looking through Leonor's eyes, trying to find any doubt, but she found none.

"You – you love me?" She asked, her voice cracked with emotions, her eyes filling with tears.

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the child-like wonder in the blonde's voice as she asked that question.

"I do. I really do. I love you, Alexandra Cabot." Now it was her voice cracking with emotions.

Alex sat up, rather slowly and still with a little help from Leonor, and took residence on her girlfriend's lap, replacing the pillow. She leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss, to which she gladly responded.

"I love you too. "


	12. Chapter 12

"Looks like they get along well." Hotch commented, nodding to Leonor and Jack who seemed to be having fun feeding the ducks.

It was warm day and Hotch and Emily decided that it was a good day for Leonor and Jack to finally meet. They decided that a picnic on the park was the perfect set up, Jack loves the park and they wanted him to be somewhere he could be at ease.

On their introduction, Jack was a little shy and confused. He didn't know how Emily suddenly had a daughter, and an adult one for that matter – an adult with a difficult name to say. But Leonor was cool, he's decided. She let him call her _Leo_ , which was easier and more fun than _Leonor._ He also likes that she feeds the ducks with him, and for a long time! Emily and his dad do not like the ducks so much. They said their shoes would get muddy. But he likes the mud! And it looks like Leonor does not mind getting mud on her shoes too.

"Leo, do you think dad and Em'ly will get married?"

Leonor smiled at his innocent question. "Why? Do you want them to?"

Jack nodded his eagerly. "Mhmm. My mommy said it's okay to love Em'ly like I love her."

"Sounds like you have a wonderful mommy."

"She's the bestest mommy! But Em'ly's great too. Is Em'ly a good mommy?"

"Yeah. She is an amazing mommy."

"I want them to get married so I can ask for a sister."

Leonor's eyebrow shot up and she chuckled. "Really? But if they get married, I can be your sister. Do you want me to be your sister?" She asked in amusement.

"Mhmm. You're really fun. But you're a big sister. I want a baby one!" He declared happily.

Leonor had to laugh at that. "That is a great point, Jack. You know what? I think they will be married. Maybe not now, but I know someday they will."

/

"You know, I was thinking – we've not had a date in quite some time." Hotch said. He was right though. Work usually consumes most of their time, the cases presenting themselves one after another. When they do get to go home, they're usually so exhausted that all they do was eat dinner then sleep – and they rarely get to go home together. While Emily insists it's okay, Hotch was still a little apprehensive and did not want to disrespect Leonor or make her uncomfortable by staying too much. Leonor, for her part, could sense this conflict and would tactfully make herself scarce by staying with Alex sometimes.

"Hmm. And how do you propose we solve this crisis, Agent Hotchner?" She grinned, turning to him and snaking her arms around his waist.

Hotch ran his hands up and down her arms. "Well, Agent Prentiss, I think that we should have dinner tonight. Just you and me in a nice restaurant, eat good food and drink good wine. Then, we'll come home, drink more wine, and then…"

"And then…" Emily smirked, before colliding her lips with his.

"Daddy!" The blood-curling scream of little Jack broke their kiss apart. The next thing they saw, Leonor was kneeling on the ground while Jack was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Emily swears she never ran so fast. They were only a few steps away but it felt like she ran a few miles before reaching them. Hotch not far behind her.

"Lee? What's wrong?" She crouched by her daughter, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Leonor closed her eyes, trying to steady everything around her. They were just walking back to the picnic table, and the next thing she knew, the ground below her seemed to spin on its own.

"I'm okay." She gasped. "I just got a little dizzy."

"Do you feel anything other than that? Any pain?" Hotch asked.

"No. No, just dizzy." She took a deep breath, the dizziness starting to subside now. "I'm okay now." Hotch and Emily helped her up and back to their table.

Once back there, Hotch gave her a cold drink while Emily had wet her handkerchief with cold water and placed it on the back of her neck.

Leonor playfully rolled her eyes. "Stop fussing. I'm fine."

"Lee-"

"It's most likely just the heat, mom." She said firmly. "I'm okay."

"Are you okay, Leo?" Jack asked, reaching out his little hand to touch her arm.

Leonor smiled, but deep inside, she felt so bad. She knew she had scared Jack. "I'm okay, Captain Jack. Sometimes, when you stay out under the sun for too long, it makes you really dizzy. Especially when you don't drink a lot of water. So you better drink up, Captain Jack." She winked at playfully.

/

"You look really beautiful, mom." Leonor said quietly as she watched Emily put on a slight make up. She was wearing a dark blue dress with ruffled sleeves that hugs her fit body and shows just the right amount of cleavage. Her hair was down and in soft waves.

"Thanks, sweetie." She smiled at her through the mirror. "What time will Alex be here?"

"She's on her way. I guess it's a race between her and Aaron." She chuckled.

A few minutes later, Hotch finally arrived. "Beauty takes time." Leonor playfully said as she let Hotch in.

"So I'm told." He chuckled.

"Well, there's that and the fact that she spent three hours choosing what to wear."

"Oh don't listen to her." Emily said as she comes out to the living room.

She walked towards Hotch and leaned in to give him a kiss hello. "Hi." She said, grinning, as they pulled away.

"Hi. You look beautiful." He said, smiling softly at her. She really did, and he was enthralled by her beauty.

"Thank you." She smiled shyly.

Leonor cleared her throat. "I'm gonna go and make myself scarce. Alex is waiting downstairs. Bye, mom." She said, giving Emily a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Aaron."

"Bye hon. Give Alex a hug for me."

"I will! You kids have fun!" She shouted as she closed the door.

/

Emily gasped as Hotch stopped the car in front of _Plume at The Jefferson Hotel_ , one of the most exquisite, yet expensive restaurants in DC. Before she could a word in, Hotch got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet driver, while an attendant opened the door for her.

"Surprise?" He said quietly.

"Aaron-"

"Shh. Let's go inside, we don't want to lose our reservations." Emily nodded as they walked inside arm in arm.

They were seated at a table in the quiet corner of the restaurant. Emily was glad for the little privacy they had as the restaurant was quite loaded tonight.

"I think I'll go for the Prix Fixe Menu, what about you?" Hotch asked, not even looking up from the menu. But when Emily didn't answer, he looked up at her only to see hesitation in her eyes as she scans the menu.

"Sweetheart," he took her hand in his, getting her attention, "What's wrong? Do you not like that food here? We could go somewhere else-"

"Aaron," she squeezed his hand back. "It's not that. I really, really appreciate you taking me to a nice restaurant but it's too expensive, Aaron." She said that last part so quietly that Aaron could barely hear.

Emily sighed. Dining here could cost them more than a thousand dollars. Hotch already ordered a $550 bottle of wine. She appreciated the gesture, she really did, but it felt uncomfortable to think that someone would spend that much money just for food. She would've been fine eating at the Mexican diner two blocks away from her place.

Hotch could see the conflict on her face, and he felt nothing but pride and more love for this woman. This woman who could have the most luxurious things in the world, yet lives so simply and so humbly. This woman who could have everything she wanted in a snap of a finger, yet chooses to work hard and prove herself to earn her spot. This is his Emily.

"Emily, I know that eating here would not impress you and I know you would not care if I brought you to the hotdog stand outside the FBI building, but, at least for once, let us enjoy this luxury. We've been running around the country for weeks, we've not had a decent date in months. You deserve this." He said softly.

Emily nodded, realizing how selfish she'd been. Hotch deserved this too. "Thanks, Aaron. And you deserve this too."

"We both do." He smiled.

The rest of their dinner went smoothly. They enjoyed the food, the wine, and the atmosphere. After which, Emily suggested they take a walk at the park near her building.

They were enjoying the quiet walk. The park was beautifully illuminated by the moon light, with the help of the street lights. There were only a few people by this time and Hotch and Emily loved the stillness of the rather busy park.

"Hey, Em?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Emily stopped dead on her tracks, effectively making Hotch stopped too.

"Wha- What did you say?" She looked at Hotch with child-like wonder in her eyes.

"I'm sorry it took this long. I'm sorry I was not brave enough to say it early. I love you, Emily. I've always have ever since I saw this feisty, graceful, and beautiful woman at the Ambassador's residence years ago. Then I loved her even more the moment she walked into my office with sheer determination in her eyes. I love you, Emily – you and your beautiful heart."

Emily just stared into his eyes, finding it hard to believe what she was hearing. She knew – or felt rather – that Hotch did love her. But there is always that tiny part in her mind that pushes all her insecurities in the front line and makes her question if she was really loveable. She was damaged after all.

"Even when I'm stubborn?" She finally said. To Hotch, she sounded like a small child who is unsure and full of insecurities.

He smiled at her then. "I love you, Emily – beautiful heart, stubborn ass, and all." She giggled at his statement.

"I love you too." She smiled at him.

Nobody knew who initiated the kiss – it didn't matter. They both knew they were in a public place – it didn't matter. All that matters was them, this moment, and their love.

They broke the heated kiss, both of them catching their breaths, foreheads pressed together. They can see the fire in each other's eyes.

"Home. _Now."_ Emily whispered.

/

Emily woke up and groaned as the sunlight assaulted her eyes. Apparently, she forgot to close up the curtains before sleeping like she always does. She stretched and immediately regretted it as she felt soreness in parts of her body that has never been sore in a long time. Then she turned and smiled as she remembered the reason for this soreness and her nakedness.

 _Aaron._ He looked so peaceful while sleeping, as if he's never seen the worse of the humanity. _Her Aaron._ She smiled as she remembers how amazing the night before was – how he made love to her over and over, how gentle yet passionate he was, how he made sure she was okay before doing anything, how at one point he let her take control even though she knew it was not his thing.

"I love you." She whispered, running her thumb over his cheekbone.

She gasped quietly as Hotch grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. "I love you too." He whispered huskily, his eyes still close.

He finally opened his eyes and was immediately in awe at the beauty in front of him. There was Emily, illuminated by the sunlight, her skin glowing. _His Emily._

"You're so beautiful." It was his turn to cup her cheek and run his thumb softly over her cheekbone. Emily looked down and immediately blushed, but he thought it was adorable. He pulled her closer and she gladly snuggled into him, placing her head on his chest. She felt the safest in his arms.

"You don't believe me." He said placing a kiss on her forehead.

"It is kind of hard to believe."

"Why?"

He felt her shrug. "Because." She whispered, and it broke his heart.

"Well, I'll keep telling you until you do. You are beautiful." He kissed the top of her head. "So, so, beautiful. _My Emily."_

Emily looked up to meet his eyes and gave a shy smile. "Yours. I'm yours, always have and always will. I love you."

He leaned down to give her a sweet and passionate kiss. "And I love you."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This one's quite short, but should briefly explain Alex's background. I just wanted to put it out here.**

"Alex?" Leonor called. They were having a quiet night in, with Chinese take-outs, wine, and movies. Dinner was long gone and now they were cuddled on the couch with a movie and popcorn. Leonor told Alex she could pick the movie and to her surprise Alex picked _Matilda._

 _"This is my favorite movie."_ Alex said excitedly. How could she deny that? She'd read the book and have seen the movie and she liked it. Besides, Alex really looked so excited and happy that Leonor was watching it with her.

"I really like this movie." Alex sighed as the credits started to roll.

"Why?" Leonor asked.

"Why what?"

"Why do you like it?" Leonor asked again, and for once, Alex was speechless.

Leonor sighed and reached for her hand. "Alex, sweetheart, when you were sick, you were having nightmares. You were crying and calling out for your mother."

Alex have never really told her about her background extensively, just that he father was dead and she has an estranged mother and that she doesn't have any known relatives. But with the recent incident, Leonor was eager to know, so she would know how help her get through another nightmare. It broke her heart to see Alex cry, but it was even more painful when she couldn't even soothe her or calm her down.

Alex looked down and Leonor immediately felt bad about opening this topic up.

"It's okay, baby. You don't have to tell me right now. I'm sorry I brought it up."

Alex shook her head and took a deep breath. "I want to tell you. I need to. I'm ready." She whispered. She stood up and headed to the bedroom. Not a minute later, she came back and sat back down beside Leonor.

She handed a photograph to Leonor. "That's my mom and dad." She said quietly. Leonor studied the photo carefully. To her, it looked like any other _rich family_ photo, where everybody stood up straight, their chin ups and had stoic faces. The man was in a black tuxedo, he was tall and blonde. The woman was a bit shorter, also had blonde hair, wearing a black dress, her hair was immaculate. She looked angry. Then she focused on the little blonde girl. Her hair was in braided pigtails and she was wearing a black velvet dress. She looked sad.

"My mom was very strict, very particular. I was not allowed to speak except when I was spoken to, not allowed to play, to go outside and get messy, or to run the hallways of the big house. I was not allowed to read books for pleasure, only the ones for school. I was not allowed to watch the television. And trust me, the punishment was horrible when I break her rules."

Leonor took Alex's hand, rubbing her thumb soothingly over the back of it. "She hated me, that much I knew. She was never _motherly_ to me. I did everything I could, everything she wanted, but it was never enough. She was just always angry at me. When I was 8 I got very sick, they said it was meningitis. I was in the hospital for _so so_ long, but I never once saw my mother. She left me to the nurses. I just… I just remember being in so much pain and crying for her, but she never came." Alex's tears just fell continuously and she made no effort to wipe them away.

"Your dream." Leonor murmured quietly.

Alex nodded. "I dreamed that I was back in the hospital, a little me scared of being alone in big room, with strangers hovering over her. I don't even why I had those dreams, chucked it to the high fever."

"My dad – he was great. He loved me. But he wasn't always there. He was a big time tech investor and he travelled a lot. Whenever he was home, my mom was a saint, but the times that he wasn't, she was my worst nightmare. Every time he gets back from a trip, he always had a gift for me, usually toys. I'd enjoy them for a while, until he has to leave again, then my mother would throw it away."

"When I was 11, he brought me a copy of the _Little Women_. He's never brought me a book before, it was always toys. But I did mention to him that I wanted it, I just didn't think he'll come through." She said with a light chuckle through her tears.

"Anyway, he left that night for a meeting just in town, and as soon as his car was out of our garage, my mother came at me, asking me where it was. I lied, I said he never gave me anything this time. She beat me, kicked and punched me and I just screamed and cried. I knew my dad would be back the same night, I just needed to survive. But eventually, she found it. She made her way to the fireplace and I kept begging and crying for that stupid book. My dad walked through the door just as she threw the book into the fire. I will never forget his face – that… that anger. Turns out he forgot an important file and had to come back. He never made it back to that meeting. They fought for hours that night while the nanny took care of my wounds and bruises. That's when I knew."

"Knew what?"

"Why she hated me. I heard her say that she never wanted any kids. As I grew older, I understood more. My mother never wanted any kids because she wanted to be the sole heir to my father's fortune. Obviously she got pregnant with me. Abortion was frowned upon at that time, especially with her strict Catholic family. So she had no choice but to have me. But my father was a smart man. When he was diagnosed with cancer, the first thing he did was amend his will. He had written out my mother so that everything will go to me. I was 19 when he died. My mother cut out any connections with me since then. I miss him so much." She cried.

"Oh honey." Leonor whispered and pulled Alex into her. She was angry – angry at the woman who abused Alex. Just the thought of anyone hurting her makes her blood boil. "I love you, Lex."

Leonor held a crying Alex impossibly closer to her and couldn't help but let her tears fall. Alex felt the top of her head get wet and so she looked up to see Leonor crying too.

"Don't cry, Leonor. Please don't cry." She begged quietly, trying to wipe Leonor's tears away with her thumbs.

"I love you, Lex." Leonor sobbed. "I love you so much, and I'm so sorry."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you sorry for?" She asked.

Leonor let out a sob. _I'm sorry that I might leave you soon._ "I don't know." She chuckled through her tears.

Alex laughed with her. "You're weird, but I love you. Thank you for listening and not freaking out and not walking away."

Leonor slightly pulled away and looked at Alex in surprise. "Did- did you really think I was going to walk away?"

She shrugged and looked away. "Some did." She whispered.

Leonor sighed and pulled Alex into her again. "Oh Lex." She murmured at the top of her head. "I promise you, I will stay as long as you'll have and as long as it is possible. I promise you that."

"I love you, Lee."

"I love you too, sweetheart."


	14. Chapter 14

"Ms. Prentiss."

"Leonor please."

The doctor gave a kind smile. "Leonor, how often do you experience the symptoms?"

"More often now. The dizzy spells and fatigue are almost every day. The headaches are maybe two or three times a day. Usually the pills get rid of them, but the bad ones – the ones where I just want to crawl into the center of the earth – they last all day, sometimes longer."

"Any trouble with your motor skills?"

"None."

"Have you been experiencing pain or discomfort anywhere else?"

"I've been having trouble breathing lately, even when I'm just walking. Sometimes, it gets painful to take a breath." The doctor noted what she said, just like she did on every other symptoms Leonor has mentioned.

After the series of questions that she was honestly in no mood to answer, they finally got to the battery of tests. Bloodwork, CT scan, MRI, X-rays – you name it, she's probably done it. She spent most of her day at the hospital, arriving at 9am for her appointment and only leaving at 6pm.

Emily was on a case with the BAU so she wouldn't have wondered where her daughter was, thinking she was just at work. Of course, Leonor didn't tell her either what she was up to. Alex, on the other hand, had court appearances and meetings all day, so Leonor knew she won't be in the office today. So, aside from the occasional messages, they wouldn't be seeing each other until that night and all Alex knew was Leonor was stuck in the office.

 _3 days later._

"If we push through with the treatments including surgery, how high is the probability that it will work, or at least somehow lessen it?" She asked.

She was back at the doctor's office, getting the results from tests. Results that she was doomed to hear. _The tumor has become more aggressive. From Grade I Glioblastoma to Grade IV Glioblastoma. A rare occurrence for someone as young as you._ Those were the words that has been running in circles in her mind right at this moment.

"I'll be honest with you, the probability is low. But it is different for everyone. Cancer cells react differently to treatment. While it might not have worked on some people, it might work on you."

"But it might not." She said, still staring blankly on the floor. The doctor only nodded.

Leonor sighed. "If I forego all treatments, how long do I have?"

"11-15 months." But there's still no assurance – treatment or no treatment. That's the point of cancer.

"Leonor, have you told anyone about this? I promise you it makes a huge difference to have a good support system in all of this."

"Let's go with the treatment." She gritted out, ignoring the question of her doctor. She had to try. She owes it to herself, to her mother, to Alex, and to her new-found family.

"Alright." The doctor responded and started explaining the treatment plans to Leonor.

/

2 weeks had passed and still Leonor hasn't told anyone about her illness. She didn't know how. She didn't think she could. Instead, she pulled away, shut herself out from anyone.

Emily was easy, she was mostly away for cases. Though they made sure to spend at least a full day together, just the two of them, Leonor did a good act of pretending was okay. She needed to savor every moment with her after all.

Alex was a different story though. Alex had her own office so that was a blessing, but it was hard for her, it still felt like they were together most of the day. They see each other all the time, it was inevitable. So Leonor resorted to the only she could think of – anger.

"Hey, babe! How about lunch at the diner?" Alex asked, standing in front of her desk. The office was empty being it was lunch time.

"I can't Alex, I'm busy. You can go ahead." Leonor said dismissively, not even looking up from her file.

Alex was hurt. At first she though was just paranoid, thinking that Leonor was avoiding her. She has been turning her down, even just for a quick coffee break, she pushes her hand away every time she reaches out for her, she never looks her in the eyes, and she could barely get a conversation with her. Leonor just seemed angry, and this confused Alex. She didn't remember doing anything that might upset the young brunette. Alex was upset too at the fact that she might have done something wrong and she does not know what it was. She felt guilty; insensitive. But now everything was clear to her. Leonor was avoiding her. It's as simple and as complicated as that.

"Come on, Lee. We haven't spent time together in-"

"Alexandra!" Leonor's tone was so angry that Alex jumped. "Please, leave me alone." She clipped, rising from her chair and about to walk out when Alex grabbed her arm. She stopped but didn't turn to look at Alex.

"Leonor, what did I do?" Her voice was sad and hurt.

Leonor pulled her arm from Alex's grasp. "Nothing." She said quietly before walking away.

Alex skipped lunch that day, and instead holed herself in the office, crying.

Leonor came home that night feeling like the most horrible person in the world. She hurt Alex. _Her sweet, beautiful Alex._ She cried herself to sleep that night. Alex doing the same in her own apartment.

/

Leonor had walked into the office late, but she wasn't there to work anyway. She headed straight to her boss's office to hand her resignation notice, effective immediately. She would start treatment in four days, and with her doctor's warning due to its aggressiveness, her immune system might be compromised. Long story short, during the course of her treatment, she needed to stay indoors as much as possible in order to avoid any infections or any viruses that she might acquire from the outside. Otherwise, she'll be in bigger trouble than she's already in.

She needed to talk to Emily too. She would, once she gets back. Emily deserves to know. Alex does too, Leonor knows. But Alex has an out, Emily does not. Alex does not need to be trapped in this nightmare. _No. Alexandra Cabot deserves better than this; she deserves someone better than me._

Luckily, Alex was not in the office at the same time that she was and until she finished cleaning up her desk. It things so much easier. Otherwise, she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it. It was not just Alex though. She loved her job. It was great experience with great pay. She actually managed to save quite a chunk from her income. She was saving it for law school, but she figures that won't be happening anytime.

 _Can we talk?_ Leonor texted Alex later that night.

 _When and where?_ She knew Alex was giving her the cold shoulder. She was putting her walls up.

 _Now. I can come to your place._

 _I'll be here._

Alex sighed and dropped the book that she was reading as knock came at her door a short while later. She was nervous, that's for sure. She didn't know what to expect, she didn't even know if this was a good idea. But she needed answers.

"Hi." Alex whispered.

"Hi." Leonor answer, still not meeting her eyes.

"Come in." She stepped aside to let Leonor in.

There was awkward silence for a few minutes, but to both women it felt like hours, until Alex couldn't stand it any longer.

"I wish you'd tell me what I did." She said quietly.

Leonor shook her head. "You did nothing wrong, Alex."

 _Alex._ That struck the blonde. They were usually heavy on the pet names, especially in the confines of their own homes.

"Then what is it? You've been avoiding me like I have some fucking disease!" Much to her dismay, the tears that she was trying to hold back fell.

"I can't do this anymore, Alex!" She blurted, her heart breaking into million pieces.

"What?" Alex was confused. It wasn't as if they were struggling or fighting. As far as she knew, they had a happy and healthy relationship. "Why?"

"I just can't" Leonor was crying now too.

"I don't accept that!"

"Stop it, Alex! Stop getting all lawyer-ly to me! I can't do this anymore, okay? I cannot commit to this relationship anymore."

"What did I do? Please tell me what I did wrong. I'm sorry I do not know, but please, Leonor-" Alex was sobbing and practically begging.

Leonor shook her head. "It's over, Alex. We're over. Please, just accept that." She whispered those last words before leaving a sobbing Alex behind.

/

"Prentiss?" Hotch called. They had just closed the case and just finished packing all the files they had at the precinct conference room. Hotch noticed though that Emily had stop in the middle of packing her case files into her bag and just seemed to stare into space. The rest of the team noticed it too, but Hotch signaled for them that he'll take care of it.

"Emily." Hotch called her again, touching her shoulder to get her attention.

Emily jumped at the contact and drew back a little. "What?" She looked and realized that they were the only ones there. "Where are the others?"

"They already left. Is everything alright? We lost you for a while there."

Emily sighed. "Y-yeah. Yeah. Sorry about that. Ready to go?"

It was a long flight back home and Emily looked around, seeing the rest of the team catching up on sleep. She was a hard time though. She's been having this nagging feeling that she couldn't shake off.

"What's wrong?" She heard Hotch asked. He sat down beside her, taking her hand in his. On the job they professionals, they were Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss. Off the job, they were Aaron and Emily – the couple, and though they were on the jet, they were already technically off the job.

Emily shook her head and squeeze his hand. "I just had this…sudden _feeling_ in my gut. It's uncomfortable, like it's telling me that something is going wrong or will go wrong. I texted Leonor and she told me she was fine. But I just can't shake it."

For once, Hotch had no answer. What was he supposed to say anyway? He can't very well invalidate her feelings, nor did he not want to make her more anxious by feeding on her gut feeling. So instead, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and guided her head down to lay against his shoulder.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart. You need to rest." They all did. They've been running non-stop and he can't even remember that last time he had a full 5 hours of sleep. He knew she's been missing her daughter too. Sure, the two of them had not been out for quite some time, but at least they see each other at work and could steal a few moments here and there. But by his estimation, she's probably not seen Leonor in about 2 weeks. And for a parent to not their child for that long, it's torture. _Note to self: Ask for a stand-down this weekend and Monday off._

"Whatever it is, whether it really is _something_ or none at all, we'll figure it out. You're not alone, not anymore. But for now, close your eyes and rest, my love." He whispered to her. A few minutes later, he could feel her relax and her breathing get steady. She was finally asleep, finally getting the rest she needed, even if it's just for a short while.

Hotch finally got Strauss to give them the weekend and Monday off, and he did all of that just before they landed to Quantico.

He placed a kiss on Emily's forehead to try and wake her up. She thankfully did stir. "Time to wake up, sweetheart. We're about to land." He knew Emily would want to freshen up before deplaning.

Emily gave him a sleepy smile and stretched. "Hi."

"Hi. Go freshen up. We're about to land." He said quietly. Emily placed a kiss on his cheek before getting up and heading to the lavatory, while Hotch woke everyone else up.

Hotch drove her home, since they got to work together too. It was becoming more of a thing now – Hotch picking her up and going to work together.

"Thanks for getting us a long weekend. You're the best boss ever." She smiled cheekily at him while he drives.

"Yeah? I wasn't hearing the same thing a few days ago." He teased.

"Well, a few days ago you were being the annoying boss and someone needed to call you out on your shit."

"I was expecting Morgan to do it."

"Nah, he chickened out." She laughed. He noticed that she seemed much more relaxed. The nap probably helped.

"Alright. I'll see you Tuesday." He said, pulling up in front of her building.

She pouted at him. "Tuesday? Why can't I see you on our weekend off?"

He suppressed the laughter that threatened to come out. _God she looked so adorable._ "Sweetheart, you've hardly seen your daughter in two weeks. I know you miss her."

"But that doesn't mean I can't see you too, right?" She argued adorably, too much for him to handle. "I'm missing you too." She admitted shyly, looking down and turning her head away.

Hotch sighed and took his seatbelt off so he could hug her. "I'm missing you, too, my love." He whispered. "Tell you what? You spend the weekends with Leonor and I'll spend my weekends with Jack. And by Monday – well, Monday is just for you and me. We'll spend the whole day together and then some, and then we'll go to work together the next day. How's that sound?"

"Really good. You're quite good at negotiating, you must have been a prosecutor in your past life or something." She grinned before leaning in and giving him a kiss.

"Okay, smarty pants. I'll see you on Monday."

Emily gave out a dramatic sigh. "If I have to wait that long to be with the one I love, then I shall conquer it."

Hotch shook his head and laughed at her antics. One would think she's had full 8 hours of sleep with all the energy she has now. "You're adorable."

"I know. Anyway, I'm going. I love you." She said, leaning in for another kiss.

"I love you, too."

/

Leonor requested that they take a drive and go somewhere nice for the weekend. She promised her mother that they'd be back Sunday night the latest, so she could spend her Monday with Hotch. They booked a nice BnB in Ocean City, Maryland, close to the boardwalk, the beach, and all the fun stuff. It was quite the drive and they had to leave early but it was all worth it once they saw what was in store for them.

"I know you're tired of travelling and you're missing your own bed, but thanks for doing this with me, mom. I really appreciate it." Leonor said. They were standing on the back porch of their temporary home for the weekend. The view was majestic.

"No need to thank me, honey. In fact, I think we really needed this getaway."

"I missed you, mama." Leonor said quietly, leaning in to hug her mother.

"I missed you too, my sweet girl." Emily said. It would always melt her heart when Leonor calls her _mama_. Sure, she would call her _mom_ on a daily basis, but _mama_ was different. _Mama_ was somehow an endearment that Leonor uses for when she misses her, when she needs her, when she's sick, when she needs to get something out of her chest, or even when she's emotional. _Mama_ was special. And Emily knows that there is more to this weekend trip than Leonor lets on.

That night, Leonor and Emily were sitting on the porch, enjoying the sound of the waves and peacefulness of the beach.

"I really had fun today, mom." Leonor as she looked back to the amazing day they had.

"Me too, honey. I'm glad you practically dragged me here." Emily chuckled.

"Mama" Leonor called after a few minutes of silence. She had to tell her now, but did not know where to start.

"Yes, hon?"

"I'm… I'm sick, mama." Leonor whispered, looking down on the hardwood floor covered in blue paint.

Emily sat up, suddenly alarmed at the vague news she just heard from her daughter. "Wh-what do you mean, honey? Sick like flu sick? A virus? An Infection? What kind of sick, Lee?"

"Cancer sick." This time she let her tears fall.

"Leonor… you do not make jokes like this, I swear-" Emily started pacing, trying to deny what she just heard.

"This is not a joke, mom! I'm sick, and I could be…dying." She sobbed.

Emily pulled Leonor up and hugged her tightly. "No! Don't you dare say that! I'm not letting you go like that, not without a fight!" She said fiercely, her own voice shaking with tears.

"Leonor," She sobbed, trying to find the words to say but failed.

"I start treatment next week. At first, I opted to decline any of it, not seeing the point of it. But I owe it to you, to at least try and fight this. A Prentiss never gives up a fight, remember? But I'm so scared, mama!" She sobbed, falling back into her mother's arms.

"Oh my sweet girl." Emily whispered, holding Leonor a little tighter in her arms. "I promise you. I promise you I'll always be here – mama will always be here. You're not going to fight alone. We will find the best doctors, the best treatments, the best hospital, I promise you."

Leonor only sobbed harder, finally letting out all the anguish and all the fears that she's been holding back. She knows there's still a lot of news to tell her mother, including her _break-up_ with Alex, but perhaps those are worries for another day. She held on to her mother's promise, because really, that's only thing she could hold on to right now.

" _Shhhh._ Sweet girl, it's okay. Everything will be okay. Mama's here now." Emily cooed to her sobbing her daughter.

It's funny how things could turn around in just a snap. One moment they were happy, the next they feel like the universe is suddenly against them.

 _I just found her. I just had her back. Please, don't make me lose her again._ Emily prayed to anyone that would listen.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily sat on the ottoman, nursing a glass of wine as she looks out through the window, watching the DC skyline at night. It had been a long, exhausting and emotionally-draining day. Leonor had her 1st chemo session and she took the day off to be with her. She was thankful that the team hadn't caught any cases yet, and she was even more thankful that Hotch didn't ask any further questions when she called in, though she could sense that he wanted to. She couldn't just tell him yet. That was up to Leonor, not her.

 _Leonor_. The young woman who was currently filling her heart and breaking it at the same time. Emily was able to talk to Leonor's doctor and explain to her better what's really happening with her daughter. The chemo lasted for about two hours and it was the longest two hours of their lives. Leonor was hooked up on two bags of IV that was pumped directly into a port that was inserted on the right side of her chest.

Now Emily Prentiss has seen the most horrible and the most heartbreaking things to exist in humanity, but nothing could ever prepare her to the heartbreak that is seeing her daughter suffer. They were warned of the severe side effects of the chemo – chills, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, soreness etc. But still they couldn't prepare themselves enough.

Leonor felt the coldness as the liquid medicine started coursing through her veins. It was weird and it made her cringe but she held her mother's hand tighter and sucked it up. Twenty minutes later, she was shaking intensely. She was cold despite the three blankets Emily covered her with. She was also nauseous and eventually threw up three times over the course of the session. She was feeling awful by the time it was done. They let her rest for about an hour before allowing her to go home. Despite her hate for hospitals, Emily actually questioned this decision, but the doctor and the nurses quickly reassured her that Leonor will be fine.

So now here they are several hours later – Leonor finally sleeping soundly in her room and her appreciating this quiet time to think and wallow a little bit. But it was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.

She sighed when she saw who it was.

"Hey." She greeted softly.

"Hey yourself. Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." It was more of a sigh but she knew he understood.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"I'll get back to you on that." She gave a light chuckle. "I miss you, Aaron." She whispered. It was needy and clingy. But this day was trying and she craved his touch, his comfort.

Hotch smiled even though he knew she couldn't see it. He knew something was going on with Emily and it was deeply bothering her. But Emily being Emily, he knew he shouldn't push and just wait until she opens up to him or else she'll pull away.

"I miss you too, sweetheart."

Emily smiled as she felt her heart flutter. "I really like it when you call me that." She said shyly.

"Well good because I like calling you that. You are my sweetheart."

"Anything interesting I missed in the office today?" She asked, and then he proceeded to tell her about his day at the office. God she could listen to him talk all day.

In the middle of their conversation, Leonor suddenly plopped herself beside Emily. Squeezing in on the ottoman and cuddling closer to her mother, laying her head on her shoulder. She woke up from a long nap still feeling weak and cold and sore. Just walking from her bedroom to her mother in the living took ounces from her energy. The nausea was a little bit better but food was still out of the question.

Emily wrapped her free arm around her daughter as she talked to Aaron on the phone, smiling as she felt Leonor snuggle even further.

"I know. I miss you too. I love you, Aaron." She said.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Bye."

Emily turned her attention back to her daughter who snuggled deeply into her. She could tell that Leonor was still having chills. "How are you feeling, sweet girl? Any better?" She asked softly, placing a kiss at the top of her head.

Leonor shook her head slightly. She had no more energy to talk and she knew her mother knew that too.

"You wanna snuggle with me in the big bed?" It was just past 8PM, but even Emily was exhausted from the emotionally-draining day she's had.

Once they were settled in Emily's king-sized bed, Leonor again snuggled closer to her mother, seeking a different kind of warmth that a comforter couldn't provide. She brushed her fingers through Leonor's hair, softly scratching her head occasionally, hearing a sigh of contentment from her daughter. Emily battled internally if she should go to work the next day. The team would be suspicious if she takes any more time off, but it didn't matter. Nothing matters but her daughter right now. Finally, she's decided that she'd make the decision tomorrow after seeing what Leonor's condition would be like. _Baby steps, Emily. Stop trying to think ahead. Baby steps._ She reminded herself.

The next agenda in her mind was telling Aaron and the team. She knew she'd be taking a lot of time off. She's even considering taking an indefinite leave. Emily knew in herself that she won't be able to concentrate in cases if she's half-way across the country from her daughter. She could be a danger not only to herself, but to the entire team and the bureau as well, and she was not willing to risk that – not if she could have a say in it. Of course they could not hide from the team forever, they are their only family. But she wanted to do it in Leonor's own time. Until then, she'll just try to take all the time she's owed by the bureau.

Emily was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Leonor whimper.

"I'm sore, mama." Leonor whimpered, her eyes were still closed but her face was pained.

Emily carefully pulled away from Leonor and stood up to grab a hoodie and thicker pajamas. She remembered the nurses telling her that keeping the muscles warm would help with the soreness. A heating blanket was recommended but they did not have that yet. Thick clothing would have to do for now.

"Mama." Leonor called weakly. She hated this – feeling weak and needy. But she was feeling so horrible that she just needed her mother to hold her.

"I'm here, baby. _Shhh._ Mama's here." She cooed as she sat back on the bed. "Can you sit up, honey? I'm gonna put this hoodie on you."

Once Leonor was wrapped up in thicker clothes, Emily resumed her position in holding her daughter.

" _Shhh._ Mama's here now, baby." Emily soother her daughter as she continued to whimper. "You'll be warm in a minute and the soreness will be gone. Just try and relax, sweetie. Mama's here. I will always be here." She reassured.

Eventually, Leonor quieted down and her breathing started to even out. Meanwhile, Emily went online on her phone in search for the best, highest quality, and highly-recommended heating blanket. She found one that suited her standards and her taste. It was expensive, but it didn't matter. Her daughter deserves nothing but the best.

"I love you, sweet girl." She whispered.

Leonor sighed. "Love you… mama." She said in her sleep-induced state. It was barely audible but Emily understood it enough.

/

It was 3 days after her first chemo session and Leonor felt marginally better. She did feel better the day before but her mother was still somehow convinced that she wasn't. That resulted in Emily skipping another day at work and is set to go back today.

Leonor decided to prepare some breakfast for her and so she determinedly woke up earlier than her. She could hear the shower running now and she knew it would only be a few minutes before her pre-coffee grumpy mother walks in.

"Good morning, star shine. The earth says hello!" Leonor greeted her mother cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen dressed for work.

Emily groaned in annoyance and made a beeline for the coffee maker, pouring a cup and taking a big sip despite its hotness. When feeling so much herself, Leonor is really quite the morning person. Definitely an opposite trait of Emily.

"I take it you're feeling better?" She asked, taking a seat on the counter

"Mhmm. Now I just got to figure out what to do with my life." She said, placing a plate of warm bacon, lettuce and tomato croissant sandwich in front of her mother. She knew she should make the most out of her time and her energy. In three days, she will be back at the hospital for a check-up and radiation.

"Thank you, hon." She said, immediately digging into mouth-watering breakfast sandwich, while Leonor was also eating her own. Breakfast went on smoothly with the mother-daughter duo eating quickly and exchanging the daily paper. Leonor insisted on doing the dishes while Emily finished getting ready for work. Just as she walked out of the bedroom, there was a knock on their door.

"Can you get that, hon?" Emily asked as she was placing her gun holster.

"Sure. You expecting someone?"

"Kind of."

Leonor couldn't help a loud gasp as she saw who it was. She didn't know how long she stood their frozen on her spot but it felt like hours for her until the person on the other side of the door spoke up.

"Hi." She said quietly.

"Alex." Leonor whispered.

"Alex!" Emily exclaimed, breaking their trance. "Glad you're here. Come in."

Alex stood awkwardly in the living room. It was clear that Leonor did not have any idea that she would be here.

"Alright you two. I do not want anyone calling me saying that there has been a murder in my place, got it?"

"Mom!"

Emily sighed. "I just want you guys to talk – really talk. No screaming, no anger. If you can fix this, that's great. If not and you both decide that parting ways would be better, then talk it out nicely and apologize and have closure. No lies, no sugar-coating. That's it." She said, looking sternly at both women.

When she asked Leonor if she had told Alex about her illness, the younger woman just burst into tears and eventually told her what happened, how she broke with Alex. _Alex deserves better, she deserves forever_ , Leonor reasoned. Emily thought that was complete BS, then proceeded to lecture Leonor on how love works. She then managed to convince Alex to come to their place and talk to Leonor. It wasn't easy as she figures that the woman was as stubborn as she is. But Emily was persistent and she was rewarded.

"Okay. I have to go." She said, hugging them both. "Love you both. Be nice to each other." She said before heading out the door.

There was an awkward silence once the door was shut.

"You should sit." Leonor offered.

"I'd rather stand." Alex said coldly.

Leonor sighed. "Alex-"

"Do you still love me?" Alex cut her off.

"W-what?"

"Do you still love me? Yes or no? Let's not waste each other's time."

"Yes." Leonor said firmly. "I do love you, Alex. I still do."

"Then why?" Alex was even more enraged when Leonor took a while to answer. "Why, Leonor?!"

"Because I'm sick Alex!" Leonor blurted out, failing to prevent herself from crying. "I'm sick. There's an 80% chance that I might die. You do not deserve that! You do not deserve the burden of taking care of a sick girlfriend. You don't deserve someone who cannot promise you forever, Lex. You deserve to live your life. You- you deserve so much more than I could give." She sobbed.

"You don't get to decide what I deserve. I do! I get to decide for myself. And if that was the only reason for you to break-up with, to break my heart, then it is utter bullshit and you know it!" Alex was crying now too.

"I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry!" Leonor sobbed, shaking her head while trying to wipe her tears away, but to no avail. It was just a waterfall of tears. She did not hear any response for Alex and she was expecting to walk right out the door. But she was surprised when Alex suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. Once her shock has worn off, she managed to hug her back. They stayed like that for quite some time, reveling in the feel of each other's arms again.

"You can be quite a jerk sometimes, you know that?" Alex chuckled despite her tears, making Leonor laugh too.

"Listen to me." Alex pulled away slightly from their tight embrace. "You are one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. You've given me a different outlook in life, a sense of adventure that I was missing out on since I was always the Ice Queen. You made me happier, Leonor." She sobbed, holding Leonor's face in her hands.

"I need you to know, that no matter what, I will always choose you. In sickness and in health, through the good and the bad – I will always choose you because I love you. You hear me?" Alex ask firmly to which a sobbing Leonor could only nod.

"And it doesn't matter if you can't give me forever. All that matters is what we have now, what we choose to do now. I will always choose you, Leonor. _Always._ " Alex was again sobbing, hoping that she was able to convey to the brunette just how much she loves her.

"I-I l-love y-you too, Lex." Leonor stuttered from crying so much. "I'm so sorry. I love you so much."

Alex pulled her again tightly into her. " _Shhhh._ It's okay. We're okay. I love you."

They pulled away after a while, but still stayed in each other's arms. "Now, let's sit down and you can tell me all about this illness. Then I will tell you how we will kick its butt."

It was already in the late hours of the evening when Emily got home. She checked in with Leonor from time to time, and once she was satisfied the she and Alex were okay, Emily was able to focus on her huge pile of paperwork.

She couldn't help but smile though as she saw Alex and Leonor cuddled and asleep on the couch. She wanted to wake them up so they could transfer to the bed, but she just didn't have the heart to disrupt the peaceful, almost ethereal, slumber of her girls. And for once, Emily felt in her heart that maybe, _just maybe_ , they'd be alright.


	16. Chapter 16

"This place is amazing." Alex said as she looks over the balcony of their BnB in Ocean City.

Leonor was so enamored with the place that she vowed to herself that she would bring Alex here too. And what better time than the present, right? She was feeling good despite undergoing several treatments throughout the week. She just hoped that nothing will set her back over the weekend. She really wanted this time alone with Alex. She needed to have this time with her to know what she really feels about this _situation_ they're in. The entire time, Alex has been her rock, besides her mother. But what bothered her was that it seems like Alex suppresses every emotion, like she's trying too hard to be strong for her. With this time, she hopes that Alex would open to her.

The real struggle though was getting Emily to agree to Let Leonor out of the house overnight. Leonor was annoyed and somehow angry at how overprotective her mother had become. But that easily went away when she realized that Emily was only like that because she loves her. It was still quite the conversation though, and it was only until Leonor sought the help of Hotch that Emily said yes. Of course there was also Alex reassuring her that she would follow Leonor's strict diet and medicine schedule. Finally, she promised that she would drive her to the nearest hospital in case something goes wrong, even if it's just false alarm. Finally, Emily conceded and now, here they were.

"It is, huh?" Leonor said, cuddling on Alex's side. "I knew you'd like it. I fell in love with this place the first time I went, and I wanted to share it with you. I want us to have good memories here."

"Oh yeah?" Alex gave a playful smirk before giving her a passionate kiss and she started peppering kisses on Leonor's neck.

"Lex" Leonor moaned as Alex kept her pace.

"Hmm?"

"Not that I don't love what you're doing, because trust me, I love it, but I really want to show you around." Leonor said, pulling away slightly from Alex to stop her from her ministrations.

"Please?" Leonor said, adding her famous pout and puppy dog eyes that she was sure Alex could not resist.

Alex couldn't but chuckle as she placed a quick kiss to those pouting lips. "Whatever my princess wants, my princess gets."

They went to the amusement park and rode on a few rides. They also played a few carnival games, wherein Alex won a huge stuffed otter for Leonor in a shooting game. Actually there was a wide range of prizes to choose from: a stuffed monkey, rabbit, teddy bear, or dog. There was even a stuffed toy shark, a LEGO Disney Castle set, and Star Wars Light Saber set of 2. But no, Leonor just had to pick out the stuffed otter. Why, you may ask? Because, according to her, stuffed otters are never chosen because they favor the other stuffed toys more and that makes the otters sad, which, in turn, makes her sad.

"What should we name him?" Leonor asks excitedly as they walk back to their temporary home for the weekend.

"Well he's yours, so you should do the honors." Alex said.

"I wanna call him Louis, 'cause he's all snuggly!" Leonor said decisively. There was a child-like tone in her voice that just made Alex's heart flutter. She also had to suppress a chuckle because Leonor's explanation, but she didn't call her out on it due to the fact that she was just adorable.

"Louis it is!" Alex declared. Then she turned to the stuffed toy to talk to it. "What do you say, Louis? You ready to come back with us to DC? We have a rather fantastic family."

"I would love to! I have been waiting a long time for a family, my back is sore from hanging for so long! Now I have two moms, a very nice brunette and a feisty blonde!" Leonor answered in a high-pitch voiced as if the stuffed otter was talking back to Alex.

"Lexieeeee." Leonor whined, placing her head on Alex's shoulder as they.

"What is it?" Alex was suspicious. She knows Leonor would be asking for something that's probably illegal.

"There's this really good gelato place near our cabin. Can we maybe get some after dinner? Please?"

Alex sighed. It's really hard to say no to this woman, but with all her diet restrictions, she must stand her ground. Or at least try to.

"Sweetie, I don't think-"

"Please, Alex! Please, just one scoop. I've been really good with my diet, you know that. I hate it but I follow it nevertheless." She pouted.

Alex sighed in defeat. Maybe they could bend the rules a little bit. "Okay. One scoop, and we're sharing."

Leonor jumped and squealed in delight. In her defense, that gelato place really does sell delicious gelatos, and has been her favorite ever since. "Thank you, baby! Thank you!" She said, placing a quick to her lips.

"You're welcome. No chocolate though, alright?"

"Alright."

"And don't tell your mother. She'll have a fit."

"Got it." Leonor chuckled. Yeah, Emily would really have a fit if she finds out. "Thank you, Lexie. I love you." Leonor said in her sweetest voice.

"Hmm. Doesn't count if you say it after I give in to your luxuries." Alex flatly. "But I love you too." She continued, placing a kiss at the top of her head.

Alex made good on her promise and they enjoyed a nice scoop of strawberry gelato after a rather bland dinner. Now they were sitting on the porch over-looking the beach. It was so calm and peaceful, they can only hear the sound of the waves.

"I really love it here." Leonor said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah? Maybe someday we can buy our own property here. You know, a cabin just like this." Alex suggested. Hell, she'd buy Ocean City if she could, if it means making Leonor always this happy.

"Maybe." Alex could hear a tinge of sadness this time. "But, I mean, you're such a city girl. I don't think you could ever last long in this place." Leonor teased.

"Ocean City is a city. I mean, it's in its name." Alex said matter-of-factly.

Leonor chuckled. "Right, smart butt." _Smart butt._ Only Leonor would say such a thing because she hated saying bad words or cursing in general. _God she's so cute!_

"But no matter where I am, I'll survive as long as I am with you."

Leonor looked at Alex and she could see so much love in her eyes. "How are you, Lex?"

"What do you mean? I've been with you most of the time." Alex said with a chuckle. Ever since Alex found out about Leonor's illness, she has made it a point to spend every time with her, especially now that Emily's been back to work. Though she travels less, there are still days when she needed to stay in the office late. Alex has cut back her work hours since she could effectively work from home anyways.

"I know, love." She said, holding Alex's hand in hers. "You have been there for me, holding me when I can't keep myself up, putting me back together when I feel like I'm falling apart, holding me when I need to be held, and loving me when I feel unlovable. You are the most amazing girlfriend anyone could ever ask for. I do not know what I ever did to deserve someone as amazing as you and I will forever thank my lucky stars for you. But you're human too, Alex. My illness- I know it's affecting you too. I just… I want you to tell me how you're feeling about all of this. You can be mad or sad, whatever it is, it's okay."

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat. She can't do this. She can't add to Leonor's burden. She's the Ice Queen for god's sake. She shook her head, trying to compose herself, trying to get her shit together. She shouldn't cry. She can't cry. Cabots don't cry. Cabots always held themselves together even if everything is falling apart.

"Alex, baby, it's okay. Don't fight it." Leonor said, encouraging her girlfriend to let her feelings out.

 _No. It's not. It's not okay, and it never will be._

"Sweetheart, you can tell me. I want to know." Leonor slightly jumped as Alex suddenly stood up and started pacing.

"You want to know?! You want to know what?! That I'm scared as shit? Because that's what I'm feeling right now, Leonor! I'm scared to death! I'm scared that I might wake up without you there! I'm scared to know that I may be alone again and I don't think I can handle that! It's not fucking fair! It's not fucking fair that you're suffering! It's not fucking fair that I always lose everyone I love! I have done my part, I have paid my dues, but it's never enough! It's never enough for me to be just fucking happy! It's not fair!" She sobbed. Leonor was quick to catch when she saw Alex almost doubled over from sobbing so hard.

"I've got you, baby." She said, hold Alex tightly against her as the blonde sobs her heart out. " _Shhhh._ I've got you. There, there. I'm here now. And _now_ is what matters, right baby? I'm here now and I'm not letting you go – not without a fight." She said before peppering her head with kisses. "I love you, baby. I love you so so much – always remember that."

Leonor let Alex cry, letting her cry out all the anguish she's been feeling and hiding all throughout this ordeal. It took a quite a while before her sobs turned into whimpers and hiccups. When her body started to sag from exhaustion, Leonor started to move inside and into the bed. But Alex suddenly tightened her grip on her.

"D-d-don't l-lea-ve m-me-e." She cried.

"I'm not leaving you, baby. But we have to move to the bed now, okay? I know you're tired. C'mon, sweet girl."

She managed to get them into the bed with a half-conscious Alex. She also managed to lock the doors and changed into her PJs and help a still crying Alex into her PJs as well. Finally, she got into the bed pulled Alex tighter into her. Alex was still crying and it seemed like she couldn't stop.

Leonor sighed. Whenever they were staying together at Alex's place and Alex would have a bad day or seemed too stress, she would sit on the rocking chair in Alex's room, with Alex on her lap, her arms secured tightly around the blonde. She would rock and sing to Alex to help her relax. And it works, of course, it does. But there's no rocking chair to help her now.

So Leonor did what she thought best at that moment. She sat up slightly, her back resting against the headboard. Then she pulled Alex onto her lap, her head safely placed on the crook of her neck, and her arms wrapped securely around the crying blonde. She felt Alex hold tightly on her shirt that her knuckles immediately started turning white.

" _Shh._ Try and relax, my love. I'm right here, holding you close. I love you, my love." She said, running her hand on Alex's hand to try and loosen her grip, but to no avail. So she wrapped her arms around Alex again and started rocking lightly from side to side and started to sing the song the she always sings to Alex.

 _You're the one that never lets me sleep_

 _To my mind down to my soul, you touch my lips_

 _You're the one that I can't wait to see._

 _With you here by my side, I'm in ecstasy_

 _I am all alone without you_

 _My days are dark without a glimpse of you_

 _But now that you came into my life_

 _I feel complete_

 _The flowers bloom_

 _The morning shines_

 _And I can see_

 _Your love is like the sun_

 _That lights up my whole world_

 _I feel the warmth inside_

 _Your love is like the river_

 _That flows down through my veins_

 _I feel the chill inside_

Alex fell finally asleep in the midst of her song. "I love you, baby. I love you so much. And I will fight for you – for us. I promise you that." Leonor whispered.

 **A/N: The song is Your Love by Juris. Go search it on Youtube. It's a beautiful song.**


	17. Chapter 17

_"You can tell him, you know." Leonor said one night as they were laying in Emily's bed. She just finished another round of chemo the day after and she was still feeling a little lousy._

 _"Tell who? And tell what?" Emily asked absentmindedly, her attention still on her phone._

 _"Aaron. You can tell him… about what's happening." She said quietly._

 _Emily sighed, put her phone down and looked at Leonor. She didn't say anything though, she didn't know what to say. Yes, she should tell people, at least her co-workers and especially her boss because that's the fair thing to do. But telling people would make all of this even more real, and honestly, she was not ready for that yet. Hell, she has not even fully and whole-heartedly accepted their fate – her daughter's fate. She still hopes that somewhere along the way, she'll wake up and realize that this cancer is just a horrible nightmare._

 _Leonor stared at her silent mother with a puzzled look. She had this confused look on her, like she's having a mental debate in her head about something. Overthinking, that's what it is._

 _"Mom." Leonor called her softly, taking her hand in hers._

 _"I just don't think it's the right time-"_

 _"No, mom. Listen to me." Leonor sighed. "It's okay. It's okay to want – to have somebody to be there for you, to have someone whom you can cry to, to hold you, to cheer you or encourage you, to hug you and say that everything will be okay even though it may not, to take care of you when you can't take care of yourself. You do all that for me, mom, and it's okay to want someone to do that for you too. You can't just keep it all bottled up all the time, I won't let you, and neither will Aaron, I'm sure of that. You can tell Aaron, mom. You have to tell him."_

That conversation has been playing over and over in Emily's head. Now, here she is spending her weekend with Hotch while Leonor and Alex is at Ocean City. Don't take it the wrong way, she's having a good time with Hotch, she missed him. They've never had an _alone time_ in so long.

"You okay?" Aaron ask as he hands her a glass of wine. They had a great day, despite missing Jack and Leonor a lot. But their day together has been great, amazing even. Now they're having a night cap, wine for Emily and a bottle of beer for him. Despite having a great day though, he could tell that Emily is bothered, and he would like to get to the bottom of it. Not that he's nosy, but only because he loves Emily so much that he hates it when she's troubled. And whatever maybe troubling, he wants to make it all better as much as he can.

"I'm gonna need the hard stuff tonight." She chuckled, knowing that Hotch has nice bottle of whiskey somewhere in the kitchen.

"You already finished an entire bottle of wine throughout the day. Don't think I didn't notice. That's the last one you're getting." He warned her.

Emily huffed in annoyance. She didn't need anyone telling her what to do. So she finished her wine in quick gulps before standing up and walking to the kitchen, swaying a bit as the alcohol made her dizzy.

"Emily, stop it." Hotch said as he tried to grab the bottle from her. But Emily won't budge, not letting go of the bottle.

"Let it go! Leave me alone!"

"Emily, stop! Stop fighting."

"Do not tell me what to do!" She seethed. "Leave me alone!" But since Hotch was basically taller and maybe just a tad bit stronger, he managed to get the bottle out of her grasp.

He placed the bottle back in one of the cupboards when he heard Emily scream and throw the glass against the wall. Next thing he knew, Emily was on the floor sobbing.

"Oh sweetheart." He whispered as he gathered Emily in his arms. He didn't know what to say, so he just held her and let her cry. He's never seen Emily like this and he was worried. God, he's so worried.

He finally carried her back to couch and sat there with Emily on his lap.

"We have to clean the cut on your hand, sweetheart." He watched as Emily slowly look at her hand, staring at it like the blood was the most foreign thing she's ever seen. Then suddenly, she broke out into sobs again.

"Okay. Okay." He soothed. "It's okay, love. _Shhh."_ He waited for her sobs to subside again, soothing her, whispering sweet nothings to her, before he carried her to the bathroom. He placed her on the counter top as dug into the first aid kit. He could hear Emily whimper as he cleaned the cut on her hand. Emily remained quiet as he cleaned up the wound and placed the first aid kit back on the cabinet.

"What's wrong, my love?" He cooed, holding her close against his chest. "Hm? What's upsetting you?"

He heard Emily whimper and sniffle, feeling her tears soak through his shirt. "Everything." Her response was muffled since her face was buried into his chest.

So he pulled away slightly but her gaze remained down. "What was that, love?"

"Everything." She whispered. "Everything is wrong."

"Emily…"

"Everything is wrong!" She sobbed again. "Everything…is..wrong." She started sobbing again and Hotch had no choice but to let her cry. Once her sobs had subsided and he felt her body sag against his, he carried her to the bed. He knew she was awake, but they just laid there, her head on his chest, holding her close, and waiting for her to finally say something.

And he was rewarded, of course.

"Leonor's sick." Emily's voice was hoarse from all the crying.

"Sick? What do you mean sick?"

"Cancer sick. Brain tumor sick. Possibly dying sick." Her voice breaking at that last sentence.

"Emily…"

"No!" She suddenly stood up and paced around the room. "Don't say it. Don't tell me everything will be okay, because it won't be! She's dying. She's dying and I can't do anything about it." She cried again.

"What's the prognosis?"

Emily shook her head as she continued to pace the room. "Not good. Not good at all. Less than 20% even with the most intensive treatment, which she is currently receiving. There's really no treatment for it, they just go in and hope for the best. They can't operate, the location is too delicate. She's dying, Aaron. My baby's dying." She sobbed.

 _Cancer. Leonor has cancer. The most undeserving person to have it._ Life just wouldn't hold up for the Prentiss women; for the woman he loves. That's why Emily's been missing work lately, or coming in late some days. For once, Hotch had nothing to say. He did not know what to say. What are you supposed to say to that anyway? _I'm sorry?_ No, that's not enough. Emily does not need a pity party. _It'll be okay?_ That's a lie, and Emily does not need lies. Encouraging words and pep talks won't cut it.

"Come here." He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight as if trying to somehow transfer some of his strength to her. He placed a kiss on the top her head. "I love you. I'm here for whatever you need, both of you. I mean it, Emily. _Anything you need._ Don't shut me out. Please." He knew the disease could slowly destroy Emily just as much as it could destroy Leonor's body, and he's not just going to stand there watch.

They stayed in that tight embrace for what felt like hours until he felt Emily placing kisses to his chest that travelled all the way up to his neck, lightly sucking on his pulse point.

"Em." He groaned.

"Aaron." She said, still continuing her ministrations.

"Emily, you're emotional. I'm not going to take advantage of that." He seethed. She pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. He could see the pain, the worry, the need, but also the love.

"Please, Aaron. You're not taking advantage of me. I'm full aware of what's happening." She whimpered. "I just… I need to feel something other than this…pain. Please" She was almost crying again. Emily is never the one to beg, but this moment was a very rare exception.

And it only took that last plea for Hotch to give in.

A few hours later, they lay in bed, their naked bodies tangled together in the sheets. Emily was sound asleep, finally. Hotch was just watching her beautiful form, her angelic beauty. He watched as her chest rise and fall with every breath.

"Just hang in there, sweetheart. I love you." He whispered before placing a kiss on her forehead. He smiled as Emily let out a content sigh.

 _Cancer. Life just wouldn't hold up for the Prentiss women._


End file.
